Chennai: Archana Veeramani, daughter of granite baron R Veeramani who is facing child rape charges has moved the Madras high court seeking a probe into the alleged human rights violation by Chennai police while deboarding her from a flight and illegally detaining her for 5 hours without any warrant or official order.Admitting the plea on Wednesday, Justice V Lakshminarayan directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to file its response by Nov 17. Veeramani, owner of Gem Granites was arrested in connection with child rape case and is currently lodged in the Puzhal Central Prison.On Oct 23, when Veeramani’s daughter Archana was preparing to board a flight to Singapore to visit her son, SIT officials took her for questioning.Aggrieved, she moved the court alleging that airline staff had deboarded her without assigning any reason. She also sought an inquiry into the alleged human rights violations she had suffered at the SIT office.According to the petitioner, SIT officials had taken her away without issuing any summons, obtaining a court warrant or issuing a Look Out Circular (LOC). She further alleged that she had been suffering from various health complications for the past 20 years and had fainted at the SIT office, following which she was taken to a hospital.She submitted that after she was admitted to the hospital, the SIT issued a summon directing her to appear for inquiry. The petitioner is not an accused in the case but had been taken for questioning. She was made to wait for a prolonged period without even being allowed to use the restroom, following which she fainted at the SIT office, her counsel said.Meanwhile, Veermani and his two associates — Shanthi and her husband Mahendra Simhan — appeared before the Goondas Act Advisory Board at the Chennai district collectorate on Wednesday. After a 40-minute hearing, the three were sent back to Puzhal Central Prison.The board will examine whether the preventive detention orders were legally justified and submit its opinion to state govt.
