Virudhunagar (Tamil Nadu): A Fast Track Mahila Court in Srivilliputhur in Virudhunagar district awarded 10 years’ Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) to the suspended assistant woman Professor of a private college S.Nirmala Devi for luring college girl students to take academic and financial assistance from the top officials of Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) in exchange for sexual favours.
Judge T.Bagavathiammal found Nirmala Devi guilty on five counts and awarded 10 years’ Rigorous Imprisonment each on two counts – for attempting to trafficking more than one person under Section 370 (3) of the IPC, and for seduction of girls in custody under Section 9 of The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.
Justice Bagavathiammal also sentenced Nirmala Devi to seven years imprisonment for trafficking of person under Section 370 (1) of the IPC and five years for attempt to procure girls for the purpose of prostitution under Section 5 (1)(a) of The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.
The court also found her guilty under the provisions of the Information Technology Act and awarded three more years imprisonment.
A fine of Rs 2.42 lakh was also imposed on her by the court.
The Judge has ordered that all the sentences shall be served concurrently, and hence Nirmala Devi would have to serve a jail term of 10 years.
The court on Monday convicted Nirmala Devi, while acquitting V.Murugan (40), an assistant professor in the Department of Management Studies of MKU and S.Karuppasamy (39), a former research scholar of the varsity, who were also arrested in connection with the case based on the confession of Nirmala Devi, for lack of evidence.
Nirmala Devi, a faculty member of the Mathematics Department of the Devanga Arts College at Aruppukottai in Virudhunagar district was arrested on April 16, 2018 after an audio clip of her telephonic conversation with four undergraduate girl students, persuading them to offer sexual favours to top officials of the varsity went viral on the social media.
Tamil Nadu Crime Branch – Crime Investigation Department (CB-CID) police had investigated the case, while a one-man enquiry Committee headed by retired IAS officer R.Santhanam, constituted by then Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit also probed the case.