Archana, daughter of Gem Group of Companies chairman R Veeramani, was detained by the police shortly before her flight to Singapore was scheduled to depart on Friday, people aware of the matter said.
Veeramani, along with his associate Shanthi, her husband Mahandra Simhan and five others, has been arrested in connection with an alleged sexual assault case. They are currently lodged at Puzhal Central Prison near Chennai.
Members of the Central Crime Branch’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted to probe allegations of sexual crimes against minor girls by Veeramani, detained 48-year-old Archana as she was preparing to leave for Singapore.
The flight was scheduled to depart at 2.20pm when the SIT members alerted the airline crew and detained her. After Archana was safely disembarked, the flight resumed its journey, people aware of the matter said.
According to the police, Veeramani has a son, Siddharth, and a daughter, Archana. In a video shared before her arrest on August 29, Shanthi had alleged a possible threat to her life from Veeramani and Siddharth.
Archana is understood to have been managing the granite baron’s businesses, which operate across multiple locations in the country. Investigators, who had been monitoring her movements, detained her as she was about to leave for Singapore. She is currently being questioned by the authorities, people aware of the matter said.
The case came to light in October 2025 after a pen drive containing a video purportedly showing a minor girl being sexually assaulted by Veeramani was found. He was arrested on August 29, 2026, along with Shanthi and her husband, Mahandra Simhan, who are alleged to have been his accomplices.
Ganesan, a former employee of Veeramani who allegedly possessed videos related to the sexual crimes but did not inform the police, was arrested on September 22.
Veeramani’s drivers, Lazer, Parthiban and Babu, who allegedly transported his victims, were arrested on October 5 and remanded to judicial custody. Shaktivel, Veeramani’s manager, was arrested recently, taking the total number of arrests in the case to eight.
The Central Crime Branch has registered seven sexual assault cases against Veeramani based on complaints from victims. Police have so far recorded statements from 11 affected minor girls.