The Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) on Friday told the Madras High Court that “top officials” for whom P. Nirmala Devi, now a suspended Assistant Professor of Devanga Arts College in Aruppukottai of Virudhunagar district, had lured girl students into sex trade were none but co-accused V. Murugan, an assistant professor (since suspended) of Madurai Kamaraj University and S. Karuppasamy, a former research scholar.
In a status report filed before a Division Bench of Justices Huluvadi G. Ramesh and K. Kalyanasundaram, S.P. Lavanya, Additional Superintendent of Police, Special Investigation Division, CBCID, said, “She (Devi) had illegal intimacy with both these accused and she has gone to an extent (sic) by promising to please them by providing her own college students for sexual favours... Both the accused asked Nirmala Devi to seduce young innocent girls to offer sexual favours to them.”
The AdSP went on to state: “They had repeatedly insisted that college girls shall be arranged for them for providing sexual favours and thus they had tried to sexually exploit the young college girls [for] their personal benefits.” The officer said that Devi, a faculty in Analytical Mathematics, was arrested on April 16 and two of her mobile phones used to talk to the girls were also seized. Her confession was also recorded in the presence of independent witnesses.
A search in her house led to seized of incriminating materials such as laptop, hard disk, pen drive, memory cards and some documents. Subsequently, Murugan was arrested on April 23 and his confession was also recorded after taking him into police custody. The other accused Karuppasamy surrendered before a Judicial Magistrate in Madurai on April 24 and a search in all their houses had led to seizure of 123 incriminating materials including mobile phones and SIM cards.
The seized evidences including audio compact discs containing the conversations between Devi and the students had been sent to Tamil Nadu Forensic Science Department for analysis with a request to give top priority to the case. So far, 160 witnesses had been examined including the victim girls, students and staff of the college as well as the university with which it was affiliated. “The investigation is being expeditiously pursued to its logical conclusion and will be concluded early,” the officer added.
The report was filed in response to a public interest litigation petition filed by D. Ganesan, State Coordinator of Revolutionary Students Youth Front - Tamil Nadu. The petitioner had objected to a parallel probe ordered by former vice-chacellor of Madurai Kamaraj University P.P. Chellathurai, at the instance of Governor Banwarilal Purohit in the latter’s capacity as the Chancellor of the university, by appointing former IAS officer R. Santhanam to inquire into the matter.
Passing interim orders on the PIL petition in May this year, a Division Bench led by Justice V. Parthiban had ordered to keep the IAS officers report in a sealed cover until further orders.
On Friday, The Division Bench led by Justice Ramesh persused the status report and directed the High Court Registry to list the case before the first Division Bench of Chief Justice Vijaya Kamlesh Tahilramani and Justice M. Duraiswamy since it was holding the portfolio of PILs on issues related to women.
“The Chief Justice would be best person to decide this case,” Justice Ramesh told the counsel.