The Tamil director's video, released after the Gem Granites chairman's POCSO arrest, calls for a probe into everyone who allegedly helped cover up the abuse.
Director Perarasu has waded into the R. Veeramani case with a video statement calling him a "pervert" and demanding that anyone who helped shield him from the law also face investigation.
Veeramani, chairman of the granite firm Gem Granites, was arrested under the POCSO Act after video evidence surfaced of him allegedly sexually abusing minor girls, according to Filmibeat Tamil. He is currently in the custody of the Central Crime Branch, which is questioning him based on statements given by the affected women and girls.
The arrest has turned into a full-blown public storm, and not just online. Tamil Nadu ministers have levelled fresh accusations that the matter was not properly pursued during an earlier stretch of the state's ruling dispensation, according to the report, dragging the case into active political sparring even as the criminal investigation continues.
Perarasu's video, posted to his Instagram, arrived into that noise and added to it. "The one thing being discussed with real tension across the country right now is this perverted act committed by Gem Veeramani," he said, according to Filmibeat Tamil's translation. "He is a pervert who has ruined young girls and women. I don't understand how he was allowed to walk free for this long."
He drew a sharp line between corruption and this. "Politicians can support or even forgive someone who's corrupt, who's taken a bribe," Perarasu said. "But nobody should support a pervert, a sexual offender who has ruined minor girls and women like this, for any reason at all."
His demand was specific: a complete investigation, strict legal punishment if the charges are proven, and separate action against anyone who backed Veeramani despite knowing what he'd allegedly done, or who helped keep it quiet.
It's worth being precise here. Veeramani has been arrested and is under investigation, he has not been convicted of anything, and the allegations remain allegations until a court rules otherwise. Perarasu's video doesn't change that legal status, but it has clearly changed the temperature. The clip has been circulating widely since it went up, with the director's reach among Tamil audiences giving the case another push into mainstream conversation just as it's already being fought over in the assembly and on news channels.
What happens next sits with the Central Crime Branch. Investigators are working through statements from the alleged victims, and any formal charges will depend on where that questioning leads. Whether the political finger-pointing over who failed to act earlier turns into anything more than accusation is a separate question, and one that's likely to run alongside the criminal case for a while yet.
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