84-year-old businessman arrested in Chennai for sexually assaulting girl

Further probe revealed that the he had rented a house in Teynampet and entrusted its management to his accomplice Shanthi and her husband Mahendra Simhan.

An 84-year-old prominent businessman from Tamil Nadu who has headed various industry panels, including head of Natural Stones and Products Panel of the ministry of commerce, was arrested along with two of his aides by the Central Crime Branch’s (CCB) anti-vice squad for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor girl, police said on Sunday.

“It emerged that numerous young girls were brought to the house where sexual crimes were committed and video evidence of one such crime involving a young girl was seized,” police said. (Representational Photo/ PTI)

The case was lodged on October 6, 2025 after a volunteer filed a complaint with the CCB and submitted a pen drive claiming it was handed over to him by an ‘unidentified’ man.

“The man claimed that the pen drive contained footage of prominent businessman 84 year old R Veeramani committing a sexual offence against a young girl in the bed room of his associate, Shanthi in Teynampet in Chennai. Upon viewing the video stored in the pen drive, the police confirmed it showed an elderly man engaging in a sexual crime against a young girl,” a press release from CCB said on Sunday.

A case was registered on October 7, 2025 under sections of BNS and the Pocso Act, police said.

The Central Crime Branch of Chennai City Police launched a probe and investigations established that the man seen in the video was R Veeramani, a prominent granite businessman.

Further probe revealed that he had rented a house in Teynampet and entrusted its management to his accomplice Shanthi and her husband Mahendra Simhan.

“It emerged that numerous young girls were brought to the house where sexual crimes were committed and video evidence of one such crime involving a young girl was seized,” police said.

R Veeramani, Shanthi and Mahendra Simhan were arrested late on Saturday and remanded to judicial custody, the police release said .

An investigation is going on, they added.

Despite repeated attempts by HT, a representative of the businessman’s family did not respond to calls.