Shanti and Mahendra Simhan have filed a bail application with the Chennai Special POCSO Court. Their arrest is linked to an ongoing POCSO case involving R Veeramani, the chairman of Gem Granites. The couple’s legal team is now awaiting a decision on their bail request.
The couple has argued that there are serious questions surrounding the case and that there is no possibility of them tampering with evidence.
Police have also reported that several other women who were allegedly minors when the incidents occurred have been identified and their statements recorded before the Special POCSO Court. The couple claims that no alleged survivor had been identified at the time of their arrest and that the witnesses in the case are largely police personnel and experts whose statements and other evidence are already in police custody. A special team headed by an Assistant Commissioner was then formed.
They therefore argue that there is no question of their influencing witnesses or tampering with evidence. The case was registered on October 7, 2025, during the previous DMK government, after police received a pen drive containing the purported video. The arrests, however, came nearly 11 months later, on August 29, 2026, after the TVK government took office and after the Special POCSO Court rejected the police closure report and ordered further investigation. The Special POCSO Court subsequently rejected the closure report on August 19 and ordered further investigation. The investigation widened after the Special POCSO Court rejected an earlier closure report on August 19 and directed further investigation.
The police, however, have told the Special POCSO Court that the identities of the survivors who have been traced are being kept strictly confidential. Police have since said that the survivor in the original video was identified and that her statement was recorded before a magistrate. A special team was formed and police subsequently said they identified the survivor seen in the video and recorded her statement before a magistrate.
The police have also indicated that the reasons for the delay in the earlier stages of the investigation will be explained. The prosecution has maintained that there was no delay in sending the case for further investigation after the Special POCSO Court rejected the earlier closure report and directed a fresh probe. Police had earlier claimed identifying the alleged perpetrator and tracing the girl seen in the video.
