The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the sexual-abuse allegations against 'Gem' granite businessman R. Veeramani told the Madras High Court on Thursday that the first chargesheet in the case has been filed, and that more chargesheets will follow in the coming days.

Source: LiveLaw

State Public Prosecutor R. John Sathyan, assisted by Additional Public Prosecutor Arun Anbumani, made the submission before Justice V. Lakshminarayanan, LiveLaw reported. The SIT also placed a status report on the investigation before the court, which was hearing a petition filed by investigative journalist Varaaki in connection with the case.

Source: LiveLaw

According to an IANS report, the chargesheet in the first case runs to 720 pages. Eight people have been arrested in connection with the case so far, including a woman identified as Shanthi, her husband Mahendra Simhan, assistant Ganesan and manager Sakthivel, the report said.

Source: IANS via The Freedom Press

Separate case against seven police officers

The investigation has also widened to the police's own handling of the complaints. According to IANS, the SIT has registered a separate case against seven police officers and begun investigating their alleged lapses, including Arun IPS, who served as Chennai City police commissioner, Kannan, who served as an Additional Commissioner of Police in Chennai, and Assistant Commissioner Yashmin.

Source: IANS via The Freedom Press

The allegations against the officers relate to their handling of the matter; the IANS report notes that the available details do not establish that they participated in the alleged offences, and the precise role attributed to each officer and the provisions invoked against them were not detailed. All of the allegations in the case remain to be tested in court.

The case so far

Veeramani, 84, was arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and is lodged in Puzhal Central Prison. IANS reported that eight cases have been registered against him so far, seven of them under the POCSO Act. Awaaz Punjab has reported the earlier stages of the case, including his arrest, lookout circulars against suspects and action over passports.

The SIT assured the court it would brief the media after filing the remaining chargesheets, including in a case involving multiple victims, where it intends to file multiple chargesheets, LiveLaw reported.