- 27 minutes ago
A heated debate unfolds over the Veeramani POCSO case and allegations of administrative delay and political interference in Tamil Nadu. Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) spokesperson Felix Gerald alleges that there was an 'institutional cover-up' under the previous DMK government, questioning why a closure report was initially filed and why a five-month delay occurred before fresh arrests and asset trails were uncovered. In response, political analyst Sushil Rajkumar argues that TVK leaders are politicising the sensitive case ahead of upcoming by-elections and questions the ruling party's handling of allegations against its own functionaries. Senior journalist Sandhya Ravishankar terms the issue a systemic failure within the police department rather than purely partisan politics, pointing out that crucial progress in the investigation came only after judicial intervention. The panellists examine the money trail, the role of senior police officials, and the accountability of the administration.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Let me open this up. Joining us on this broadcast, we've got Felix Gerald, spokesperson of the TVK,
00:05Sandhya Ravi Shankar, senior journalist, as well as Sushil Rajkumar, political analyst.
00:10Mr. Felix Gerald, I'd like to begin with you.
00:12There's no evidence right now, sir, to suggest that the DMK helped Veeramani in any way.
00:18So when the TVK constantly suggests that there was political pressure,
00:21is there any evidence that you have to say so?
00:25Let us look at the manner in which police approached this case.
00:32Then we will understand how DMK or the ruling party was involved.
00:37Number one, in any normal POPSO case, first they will arrest.
00:41Then only investigation will start. Here, it is not done so.
00:45And immediately, the scandal has become big.
00:50Why all of a sudden, DMK former ministers and DMK experts, legal experts like Mr. N. R. Ilanguwan, current sitting
00:58MP,
00:59why they are jumping into, appearing before media and giving all sorts of false information?
01:04They're saying they have not submitted a closure report.
01:08And if that is the case, then why the court has rejected the report and asked for a fresh investigation?
01:16Number three, the most important one, look at the timeline of the money trial.
01:22All the properties, both properties in the East Coast Road facing the beach,
01:26the property worth of 130 crores, and another property in Ooty, almost worth of 10 crores,
01:34were sold between the time of the FAR to the closure report.
01:40And now, the fresh arrest, identifying new victims as well as arrest of Mr. Ganeshan and Mr. Prakash,
01:49shows that this money has, you know, gone from Ganeshan's account to Prakash's account,
01:55and from there, it was distributed to many other people.
01:59But we don't know to whom, sir.
02:00We don't know to whom the money is gone.
02:03It is, all I'm saying, it is an institutional cover-up.
02:07In due course of investigation, we'll identify the individuals behind this heinous crime.
02:16And I can assure you one thing, the current Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Thiru Joseph Vijay,
02:25is very keen.
02:26He's very keen and he's monitoring the case on day-to-day basis.
02:30He appointed a special officer to investigate.
02:33And very soon, the entire network will be brought to the justice.
02:39No, but the question that will be asked, sir, the question that will be asked, Mr. Felix Gerald,
02:43is when there are questions being asked of political pressure,
02:47of maybe the DMK of the previous government being involved,
02:51because like I said, we don't know just yet,
02:53or maybe a case of extremely corrupt police officers who accepted money.
02:58Now, can we expect the TVK in such a circumstance to ensure a fair pro?
03:01Because you clearly will gain from a DMK role emerging.
03:05Madam, let us imagine this way.
03:10Why DMK is showing interest?
03:12Especially the politicians.
03:13They could have definitely said, we are with the government.
03:16We want the entire criminal officers to be arrested.
03:19They could have said the same thing.
03:21Why they are defending?
03:22How come the former law minister knows the footage is blurred?
03:28Did he see the footage?
03:31Did he see now?
03:33Why N.R. Ilangon is coming and giving a completely false news?
03:38As if they never closed, they filed a closer report.
03:41Why?
03:42What is the need for them?
03:43Why they are jumping into this?
03:45It is a legal investigation that is going on.
03:48And they could have definitely said that it is a corrupt officers.
03:51It has not done without our knowledge.
03:54They could have done it.
03:55They could have said that.
03:55No, that is a fair question.
03:58Fair question.
03:59Mr. Sushil Rajkumar is also with us on this broadcast.
04:01Mr. Sushil Rajkumar, the reason right now questions are being asked about whether the DMK is involved
04:08is because of the response that has come in from a former minister like Mr. Ragupati.
04:12When he says the footage wasn't clear, no closure report was filed,
04:16and all of that suggests that they are also defending the cops in this, sir.
04:21No, no.
04:23There is no defense from the DMK side.
04:26Whoever the accused should be put behind the bars, there is no doubt about it.
04:32But the issue here is two, three ministers, namely Mr. Nirmal Kumar and Mr. Aadha Varjuna,
04:42and one more minister who is a school education minister.
04:45Mr. Rajkumar.
04:46They have come out openly and are trying to shift the blame entirely on the DMK
04:51because of the ensuing by-elections in the two assembly constituencies.
04:55Instead of doing politics in this, they should look into the Section 37 of the Folks Act,
05:01which clearly says that there should not be any discussion openly
05:04because it will help only the accused to escape the law.
05:07If Mr. Vijay is really interested in securing justice to the affected children,
05:11he should stop his ministers, he should tell their ministers to stop rendering their views
05:18in front of the media and politicize the matter.
05:21Instead of, he should do that.
05:23But I seriously doubt, I seriously doubt on the, I have serious doubts on the TVK people,
05:32whether they have all the intentions on that.
05:33Because we have seen in Sri Vaikuntham TVK MLA case also,
05:37where a woman who gave a complaint to the police station that she was gang raped by TVK men.
05:42The case was suddenly closed.
05:43There was a compromise made by the senior minister in the TVK cabinet.
05:48Mr. Sushil Rajkumar, you are saying don't drag politics into this and you are then dragging politics into this.
05:54So...
05:56No, we should answer, no.
05:57They are blaming in front of the media.
05:59They are blaming.
05:59Okay, fair.
05:59So that question is valid.
06:01Mr. Felix Sherry, why don't you answer that?
06:03That you are politicizing this issue.
06:05See, see, see.
06:06No, by blaming the DMK, they clearly,
06:09they are clearly helping the accused to escape the law.
06:12Okay.
06:12Instead of blaming other people,
06:15if the TVK had the guts to take action against them,
06:19they will take action against them.
06:20Okay.
06:20Whether they're DMK people or ADMK people or TVK people.
06:24They should act against them.
06:25You have asked certain questions.
06:27Mr. Felix Gerald, your response.
06:29See, let me tell you.
06:29Five months they have kept this case without taking any action.
06:35Five months.
06:36Why in this period there was such a five month delay?
06:38In an ordinary case, immediately the accused will be arrested.
06:44Why?
06:45There was a five month delay.
06:46Number two, you look at the timeline of the money trial and the case closure.
06:54Okay.
06:55And why again DMK is coming into the picture and saying that,
07:00see, yes, it is election time.
07:02And the moment the TVK government came and the reinvestigation started,
07:08they were able to identify the victim.
07:10They were able to identify the criminal.
07:13They were able to crack the network.
07:16And this, see, this is what we are doing it.
07:18And he was telling, see, what even TVK party men were arrested for similar crimes.
07:26Okay.
07:27There is no compromise.
07:29TVK party men were arrested.
07:31Sir, are you, you know, the questions are being asked with by-polls coming up.
07:35No, no, there is no politics at all.
07:37There is no politics.
07:38See, there is no politics at all.
07:40See, first of all, an officer, you know, filing a closure report, how can they do?
07:45They will have their own kids.
07:48It is a case where you should don't look at, it is beyond politics.
07:54The DMK should have come with us.
07:56Come, let us, we will cooperate with you.
07:58We will do, we will, we are with you.
08:00We will do everything.
08:01Why they are defending them?
08:02Mr. Rajkumar, Mr. Rajkumar, should that have been the approach?
08:05That ultimately the reality is that under the DMK's watch for five months, nothing moved.
08:10In three weeks now, under the TVK's watch, things have moved.
08:13You have seen the investigation moving forward.
08:21Mr. Rajkumar, I think we are having a bit of a problem with his connection.
08:25I will bring in Sandhya Ravishankar also on this broadcast.
08:28Sandhya, what do you think?
08:29Do you think there is unnecessary politics of these issues?
08:31Or are these questions correct to be questioning the DMK, asking if political pressure was there?
08:38I definitely think there is unnecessary politics over this issue.
08:42And it's being fueled by the Chennai police, who are investigating the case and leaking bits and pieces of information
08:49to the media.
08:51It is definitely something that the ruling party, the government is, you know, capitalizing on, considering that, you know, a
09:02bipolar is ahead in two seats.
09:04But apart from that, I also am, as a resident of Tamil Nadu, I am horrified.
09:13I am absolutely horrified that the Chennai police was not able to identify the survivor at one point of time.
09:21And then suddenly they are able to identify the survivor at another point of time.
09:25The same Chennai police.
09:26So, ideally, you know, it's horrifying to me to see all of this information coming out of, you know, very
09:34young minor girls being sexually abused in this fashion by a very, very powerful and prominent man.
09:41Yeah, but that's the question then, Sandhya.
09:43You know, that what you've highlighted, that contrast, that previously the investigation didn't move forward.
09:48Now, in a matter of three weeks, it's moved forward.
09:50It's the same Chennai police.
09:52What's changed is the administration.
09:53And so, therefore, you know, as much as we try to keep away the politics, that question inevitably will come
09:58up.
09:59Absolutely, absolutely.
10:00And it's a question that the Chennai police has to answer because, you know, all this while we've been thinking
10:05that the police is independent and they function independently of the government.
10:11And, well, I really, frankly, don't know what happened in those five months.
10:16Did it go up to the minister level, the chief minister level when the DMK was in power or was
10:23it, you know, all suppressed at a police officer level?
10:27A lot of questions need answering, Akshita.
10:29And this is a systemic issue.
10:32It's not about DMK or TVK.
10:34It's about correcting a system that feeds at one point in time.
10:38You know, and what we cannot deny here are the questions that will be asked of why it didn't move
10:43forward in five months.
10:44We have Mr. Sushil Rajkumar back with us.
10:46So, Mr. Rajkumar, the question I was asking you is that we cannot deny that when that investigation happened under
10:51the previous regime, nothing moved, sir.
10:53Versus now, three weeks, it's moved.
10:56The same policemen are under your control now.
10:59Who is stopping and what is stopping Mr. Vijay's government on taking action against the perpetrators of this crime?
11:06No, but at least, that's happening, sir.
11:08Now it's happening.
11:09At that point, a closure report was filed and they said no evidence.
11:12The accused person is saying that, fearing that he is under threat.
11:18Many people will hesitate to come open and complain against the accused person.
11:23I seriously doubt the intentions of the TVK government.
11:27I seriously have serious doubts because it is a history for the past three months to help the accused people
11:33escape the complaint.
11:34What is that they did in Sri Vaikantam is open in the public.
11:37They cannot deny that.
11:38Their MLM, Mr. Saravanan, was made to escape.
11:41There was a serious complaint against him for gang rape.
11:43What did they have done?
11:45Instead of blaming the opposition party, they should take action against the people.
11:50What was the complaint against him?
11:52You tell what is the complaint?
11:53You tell what is the complaint against him.
11:55Why it was closed?
11:55You tell me.
11:56You are saying no?
11:57You are accusing him.
11:57Why it was closed?
11:58Why it was closed?
11:59Why there is a compromise?
12:00What is the complaint against him?
12:02I asked you very simple, straightforward question.
12:04What is the complaint against him?
12:05Sri Vaikantam and MLM, what is the complaint against him?
12:07You tell me why you have closed the complaint.
12:09You tell me.
12:10There is no complaint.
12:11Why you have closed the complaint?
12:12No.
12:13You are coming to say.
12:14No.
12:14I think Mr. I asked about the question.
12:16What is the complaint that was closed that you are suggesting?
12:19Why it was closed on a compromise?
12:20There is no complaint against him.
12:21Please understand.
12:22No.
12:23The woman openly came out and gave serious allegations against us.
12:27Sri Vaikantam and MLM, where is the action on your part?
12:31When the woman gets educated, what is the actual complaint against him?
12:37You tell me what is the actual complaint against him.
12:39Sir, you are only saying no, sir.
12:40No.
12:41You are saying no.
12:45The woman who gave the complaint is from your party only.
12:48Who is stopping you from taking against your MLM and one of your ministers is openly using
12:55dope in public IPL match.
12:57What action have you taken against them?
12:59Now you are doing politics only.
13:01Now you are...
13:02Let us go.
13:02Let us go.
13:03Let us go one by one.
13:05Let us go one by one.
13:07Yeah.
13:07There was a complaint against two individuals for sexually harassment.
13:12They were arrested and they were in jail.
13:15Okay.
13:16There was a complaint against the Salem TVK man.
13:19He was arrested.
13:20He is in jail.
13:21Okay.
13:21Just because you want to make politics, you are dragging in the nursery way from MLM.
13:26And he gave an open press meet.
13:29He was chased by a lorry.
13:31And he was forced to support DNK.
13:34Why are you not talking about that?
13:36Okay.
13:36Number two.
13:37There was a change in the attitude of the police.
13:40It is because of the leadership.
13:42The leadership is very important.
13:44Okay.
13:44Today, there is a leader who wants to give a good governance.
13:51And who wants to protect our young children.
13:54And that is why the entire police force has changed.
13:58They are the same people.
13:59Okay.
14:00But the leadership and the leadership quality and the attitude of the leadership is very important.
14:07If TVK government had not come, what would have happened to this case?
14:12And how many young children would have been spoiled by this monster?
14:16Sir, I agree.
14:17I agree with you that, you know, this case didn't come to the fore until we've seen the police crackdown.
14:22But it is also because of the court stepping in this particular case.
14:26Sure, sure, sure.
14:26Having said that, on the aspect of political pressure, Sandhya, so far with all the evidence that has come forth,
14:34do you think there is anything that points towards political influence having scuttered the probe?
14:40So far, there has been nothing that has really shown that political pressure was, you know, applied to stop or
14:51protect Vira Mani in any situation, you know, from any court case.
14:56But, which is why I'm saying that it's more of a systemic issue now.
15:01Of course, the TVK government is going to take credit for it.
15:04They're taking a leaf out of the DMK playbook where, you know, they take credit for stuff that has just
15:11happened as part and parcel of the process.
15:14But, like you said, 100%, Akshita, thank God for Magistrate Padma Shannugusundaram.
15:21Because if she had not stepped in and said, go and get it done, I do not think this case
15:28would have seen the light of day.
15:29And I frankly do believe that there have been lapses, a lot of lapses, whether they, you know, they involve
15:38any sort of, you know, give and take within the police force or not.
15:43That is something that probes will have to turn up, will have to, you know, throw up.
15:49But I think definitely there is a very strong case to investigate the police officials who, the police officers who
15:59are involved in this, not just in the investigation, but also further up the line.
16:04You know, the Chennai City Police Commissioner, as I said earlier, the buck stops with him.
16:08And further up, if you go even further, then there are a whole lot of senior ranking officials who should
16:15have, you know, ideally looked into this and ensured that justice was delivered in the first instance.
16:22No, and I think that while we are seeing the investigation moving forward now, we only hope that beyond, of
16:28course, the entire scandal, the racket coming to the fore,
16:31that aspect of who helped cover up this entire crime, who helped Veeramani, that is investigated thoroughly.
16:39And there will be a question asked about the police investigating the police.
16:42Can that be fair?
16:43Should we be having another authority, another agency actually look into these allegations?
16:48But that is something we will track very closely.
16:51We are going to, of course, continue for our viewers getting every update in this particular case.
16:57It's shocked the country and rightly so.
16:59Thanks, Sandhya.
17:00Thank you, Mr. Felix General, for joining us on this broadcast.
17:02I'd like to thank Mr. Rajkumar as well.