Additional Director General of Police Arun, who previously served as Chennai police commissioner, has been questioned and his statement recorded over the handling of the POCSO case involving Granite Veeramani, according to a report by Dinamalar citing police sources.
Arun was questioned after being served a summons in connection with the manner in which the case was handled during his tenure as Chennai police commissioner. The report said investigators put 80 questions to him and recorded his statement.
The case concerns allegations of sexual violence against minor girls. An FIR under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act was registered during the earlier administration after a complaint was made against Veeramani. The investigation was handled by Yasmin, then an assistant commissioner attached to the Chennai police anti-trafficking and prohibition unit, according to the report.
The initial investigation was closed after the officer cited several reasons, including the absence of evidence at the house where the alleged offence was said to have taken place on February 19. The officer also reportedly stated that investigators could not establish that the person seen in a video was Veeramani.
Following a change in government, the allegations against Veeramani were reopened for further investigation. A Special Investigation Team is now handling the case. The SIT has arrested seven people, including Veeramani, and they have been remanded in prison, the report said. The supplied report does not provide the dates of the arrests or details of the charges against each accused.
The investigation has also widened beyond the alleged offences. SIT officials told a POCSO court that they were examining allegations that several crores of rupees had changed hands to suppress the allegations against Veeramani. The report presents this as an allegation under investigation and does not establish that any police officer received money.
A separate police team is examining whether illegal financial transactions took place in connection with the case. The two tracks place the conduct of the original investigation, possible institutional involvement and the movement of money under scrutiny.
The questioning of Arun therefore forms part of a broader effort to examine decisions taken during the earlier investigation, rather than serving as a finding of wrongdoing against him. The report does not state whether Arun has been named as an accused or whether investigators have reached any conclusion about his role.
Arun is currently on a waiting list without a posting, according to the report. The next formal developments will depend on the SIT’s investigation, the separate financial inquiry and proceedings before the POCSO court.
