84-year-old granite magnate arrested for luring poor girls via charity scheme
Police have detained 84-year-old granite baron R Veeramani and two aides over an alleged child-sex network run through his charitable foundation for underprivileged students in Chennai.
An alleged child-sex racket centred on a bungalow in Alwarpet, Chennai, has resulted in the arrest of 84-year-old granite entrepreneur R Veeramani and his associates Mahendra Simhan and Shanthi. Police allege the scheme operated under the guise of a charitable foundation for underprivileged students, luring girls with promises of money, smartphones and sports shoes before assaulting them. The investigation began after an anonymous donor handed a pen drive with an explicit video to the Indian Community Welfare Organisation in October 2025; a special court later ordered a fresh probe, overturning a police attempt to close the case.
An all-woman special investigation team has recorded statements from seven survivors, seized five locations, and issued a look-out circular for a suspect named Prakash. The probe also scrutinises two property sales by Veeramani on East Coast Road and possible involvement of senior police officers, while political parties exchange accusations over the handling of the POCSO case.
Why it matters
It exposes how charitable fronts can be misused to exploit vulnerable children and raises questions about law-enforcement handling of sexual-offence cases.
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