The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to investigate offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against ‘Gem Granites’ owner R. Veeramani detained his daughter Archana Veeramani at the Chennai International Airport on Friday (October 23, 2026).

Minutes after Ms. Archana boarded a scheduled flight to Singapore, an SIT team got her out of the aircraft with the assistance of the crew and took the 49-year-old passenger into custody, police sources said. 

Investigators headed by an Additional Superintendent of Police were tracking the movement of Ms. Archana and other suspects in the cases against Veeramani and his associates. Acting on a specific input that she was heading to the airport to take an international flight, the police intercepted her shortly before take-off, the sources said. 

A senior police officer said Ms. Archana would be questioned about the alleged cash and gold transactions between her father or his firm and others after the first complaint of child abuse was lodged in November 2024. 

“Archana would certainly know the transactions, as she received a portion of the money from lands sold by Veeramani early this year. It is possible that she would have more information on the illegal activities of her father and his associates,” the officer, who did not want to be named, said. Later in the day, Ms. Archana complained of uneasiness due to a suspected autoimmune disorder. She was taken to a private hospital, where her condition was said to be stable.

Veeramani is facing seven cases under the POCSO Act and one case of abetment to suicide of a minor in 2004. The businessman, his associate Shanti, and her husband Mahendra Simhan, and five others have already been arrested and lodged in Puzhal Central Prison. 

The SIT has taken steps to issue a Blue Corner Notice to apprehend Prakash Kanniah, who is alleged to have absconded and is believed to be staying in the United Kingdom. His alleged association with Veeramani, Shanti, and others brought him under police radar, police sources said. 

(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416, and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)

Distressing reports of heinous crimes against minor girls have surfaced in Tamil Nadu in September 2026 with a powerful business tycoon – 84-year-old Gem Granites founder R. Veeramani – at the centre of the allegations.

Veeramani, who, along with two others, was arrested late August for the sexual assault of a minor girl – visuals of which were in the possession of the Chennai police as early as October 2025 following a complaint by a child rights activist – is now facing multiple allegations of child sexual abuse, with several survivors (all of whom were aged 12-15 at the time of the incidents) having come forward and recorded their statements.

The Chennai police, meanwhile, are under fire for failing to take timely action against Veeramani and his co-accused Shanthi, 55, and Mahendra Simhan, 60 – whose bunglow was allegedly used by Veeramani to commit the crime – and filing a report before a court, recommending that further action be dropped. The report, however, was rejected by the court, resulting in the current investigation.

The TVK-led government has consequently removed two senior IPS officers from their posts – A. Arun, ADGP, Tamil Nadu Police Academy, and N. Kannan, Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore – who were at the helm of the Chennai Police Commissionerate when the complaint first surfaced. A special investigation team (SIT), comprising women officials, has also been set up to probe the crime and related matters.

The Hindu has been closely following the case, dubbed as Tamil Nadu’s ‘Epstein Files’. Here is a compilation of all the stories we have done on the case so far. Tune into our coverage.