The shocking R Veeramani sexual abuse case has snowballed into a political battle. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay has now trained guns at the DMK, alleging “political shielding and protection.” The accusations were earlier junked by former CM MK Stalin.
CM Vijay, at a public event has called out his legislative predecessors over the horrifying POCSO racket allegedly run by granite baron R Veeramani. Vijay in his address has slammed the DMK over repeated inaction after the case was filed in 2025, and accused the Dravidian party of “staying silent for years.” He said, “the accused has been abusing young girls for years, and the DMK remained silent.” He also called out the AIADMK for inaction in power, alleging collusion between the two Dravidian parties.
He added, “we’ve arrested the culprit. The victims were young children. If the opposition cannot stand up for them, what politics are they doing?”
DMK President Stalin had earlier broken his silence to label the allegations “false” and “reprehensible”. He asserted that no orders were ever issued during the DMK regime to protect anyone. Stalin emphasised that the DMK’s firm stance is that Veeramani, along with anyone who connived with him, must face the maximum legal punishment.
In response to TVK’s earlier attack, DMK spokesperson TKS. Elangovan hit back by highlighting that photographs have surfaced on social media showing two current TVK ministers sitting with Veeramani. The DMK questioned the ruling party’s narrative, demanding they clarify their own proximity to the accused.
A POCSO Special Court in Chennai has extended the judicial custody of Veeramani till October 9 in connection with sexual assault of minor girls.
Former Chennai Police Commissioner Arun IPS has been placed on the compulsory wait list amid growing scrutiny over the police investigation into the POCSO case involving granite baron R Veeramani during the previous DMK government.
Arun was serving as Chennai Police Commissioner when the Veeramani case first came to light. Under the latest administrative action, he will not hold any active posting for now, but will remain on duty and continue to draw his salary.
Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner Yasmin, who had investigated the Veeramani case during the previous DMK regime, has been sent to the vacancy reserve.
On Thursday, two key accused in the case, Shanthi and Mahendra Simhan, moved the POCSO Special Court seeking bail. The court directed the police to file their response and adjourned the hearing to September 29.
In their joint bail plea, the two accused questioned the proceedings, citing the delay between the alleged offence and registration of the FIR. They pointed out that the complaint was registered in October 2025, while the alleged incident dates back to 2019.
Tamil Nadu’s ‘Epstein’ case got a timeline twist on Wednesday after the Congress said that it had approached the police with evidence against granite baron Veeramani in sexual assault cases involving minors as early as 2024 – months before the police say they received their tip-off in October 2025.
Tamil Nadu Congress leader MP Ranjan Kumar claimed that he had approached the police with a complaint and video evidence as early as 2024.
Ranjan Kumar, who heads the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee’s Scheduled Caste wing, claimed he had submitted a complaint against Veeramani in 2024 after suspecting that the alleged victims could belong to oppressed communities. According to his account, Ranjan had recorded the video after Shanthi, one of the victims who later became an aide to Veeramani, showed it to him.
The claims raise questions against the police. Chennai Police have maintained that a tip-off was received on October 6, 2025, when a person approached the Anti-Vice Squad with a pen drive containing a video that purportedly showed a minor girl being sexually assaulted. Police subsequently registered a case and identified the man in the video as Veeramani, who is being described as Tamil Nadu’s ‘Epstein’.