Chennai, Oct 23 (IANS) The daughter of granite businessman R. Veeramani, who is facing POCSO cases, was on Friday deplaned at the Chennai International Airport and detained by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for questioning, an official said.

Archana Veeramani, 49, was detained minutes before her scheduled IndiGo flight to Singapore was to take off at 2.20 p.m., said the official.

The detention followed an intelligence input received by the SIT, which had been tracking the activities of Archana and other suspects linked to the alleged sexual abuse of minor girls by the 84-year-old granite businessman, the official said.

Last week, the SIT intensified questioning of granite businessman R. Veeramani in prison in connection with the cases.

The 84-year-old industrialist was questioned inside the prison following a court order permitting investigators to question him for two additional days.

The court allowed the questioning to take place within the prison premises in view of his advanced age.

According to police, 10 girls have lodged complaints against Veeramani, resulting in the registration of seven cases.

The SIT is investigating the complaints and examining his responses to the allegations.

Investigators questioned Veeramani from morning until evening on October 16 and recorded his statement, police said.

The latest round of interrogation followed an earlier three-day period of police custody.

On October 18, the SIT arrested Veeramani’s company manager Sakthivel.

Investigators subsequently obtained judicial permission for another two days of questioning, with the venue shifted to the prison under the arrangement approved by the court.

Police said Veeramani had been arrested in four of the seven cases registered against him.

They also said he had been detained under the Goondas Act.

The sexual abuse allegations are being investigated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The SIT's inquiry covers the complaints received so far. While police have disclosed the number of complainants and cases, they have not provided further details about the statements recorded during interrogation or Veeramani's responses.

The investigation remains underway, and the allegations against the businessman have yet to be adjudicated.

The registration of cases and the questioning form part of the investigative process and do not establish guilt.

--IANS

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