Stalin said Veeramani, those accused of facilitating the alleged offences and anyone found to have protected them should face the law and receive the maximum punishment, regardless of their position.

“This is the DMK’s stand,” Stalin said, adding that it was also his position “as the leader of a political movement, as a family head and as a human being with a conscience.”

The statement comes amid an escalating political confrontation between the DMK and the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) over the handling of the case.

Stalin accuses TVK of politicising case

Without naming the TVK directly in parts of his statement, Stalin accused the ruling party of spreading what he described as false allegations against the DMK for political gain.

He said the suffering of the alleged survivors should not be turned into an election issue and urged the government to focus on securing justice for the girls.

Stalin also cited other cases involving crimes against women and girls during the DMK's tenure, claiming that accused persons were arrested, chargesheets were filed and convictions secured.

The TVK, however, has maintained that questions over the Veeramani case arise from the way the investigation was handled under the previous government.

Its IT wing has questioned why the case was allegedly allowed to lapse and why a final report was filed despite the existence of video evidence.

TVK rejects Stalin's charge

TVK spokesperson M. Sathya Kumar rejected the allegation that the ruling party was exploiting the case for the upcoming bye-election.

The party has argued that the issue came under scrutiny after the Special POCSO Court refused to accept the police closure report and ordered further investigation.

TVK has also maintained that Chief Minister Vijay wants the investigation to establish the truth and ensure justice.

The political dispute comes ahead of the October 6 bye-election, with Vijay scheduled to campaign in Madurantakam on September 28.

How the Veeramani case unfolded

The case dates back to 2025, when a child-rights activist reportedly approached the police with a pen drive containing footage purportedly showing the sexual assault of a minor girl.

An FIR was registered, but Veeramani was not arrested at the time. Police later sought to close the case, citing difficulties with the evidence and identifying the girl in the video.

The Special POCSO Court subsequently rejected the closure report and directed that the investigation continue.

Veeramani was later arrested along with Shanti and her husband Mahendra Simhan. Police allege that the couple facilitated the offences.

The investigation has since expanded. Police have traced the girl seen in the alleged video and recorded her statement before a magistrate. Investigators have also identified several other women who were allegedly minors when the incidents occurred, with their statements recorded as part of the probe.

Two senior IPS officers put on compulsory wait

The controversy intensified on Thursday after the Tamil Nadu government placed senior IPS officers A. Arun and N. Kannan on compulsory wait amid scrutiny of the earlier handling of the case.

Arun, now Additional Director General of Police and Director of the Tamil Nadu Police Academy, was Chennai Police Commissioner during the relevant period.

Kannan, currently Inspector General and Commissioner of Police in Coimbatore City, was then an Additional Commissioner of Police in Chennai.

Assistant Commissioner of Police M.A. Yasmin has also been placed on vacancy reserve. She had submitted the closure report in the case before the court in February.

The government order did not publicly specify the reasons for the action, although the move comes amid scrutiny of allegations that information about the case had reached senior police officials before the investigation was reopened, according to the Times of India report.

Political blame game intensifies

The developments have transformed the Veeramani case into a major political flashpoint in Tamil Nadu, with the DMK questioning whether the issue is being used for electoral purposes and the TVK demanding answers over the earlier police investigation.

At the centre of the controversy, however, remains the investigation into the allegations against Veeramani and the question of how the initial complaint and evidence were handled before the Special POCSO Court ordered the probe to continue.