Nirmala Devi gets 10-year RI in trafficking case
MADURAI: A day after she was convicted for trying to lure students into offering sexual favours to higher officials at Madurai Kamaraj University and prominent personalities, professor Nirmala Devi was sentenced to 10-year jail term on Tuesday for multiple counts.
The matter had created a big controversy in the State after the audio of her conversation with a female student came out in 2018.
Judge T Bagavathiammal of the Fast Track Mahila Court in Srivilliputhur, Virudhunagar, found her guilty under IPC sections including 370 (seven years of jail term and Rs 5,000 fine), and 370 (3) (10 years of jail term and Rs 25,000 fine), section 5 (1) (a) of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (five-year jail and fine of Rs 2,000), Section 9 (10year jail and Rs 10,000 fine) of the Information Technology Act (three-year jail and Rs 2 lakh fine).
After the sentence was pronounced, she was taken to Madurai and lodged in the central prison.
Nirmala, who worked as an assistant professor at a private college in Aruppukottai, was caught on audio tape trying to lure four female students of her college to extend sexual favours in return for higher marks and money.
After the conversation came to public knowledge, it triggered a huge controversy in Tamil Nadu, which grew bigger after the names of some of the most prominent personalities began floating. On April 16, 2018, Aruppukottai Town
Nirmala was caught on tape trying to lure female students to extend sexual favours for higher marks
police arrested her in connection with the case.
Meanwhile, the State government constituted the Santhanam Committee to inquire about the incident. Later, the case was transferred to the CB-CID, which conducted a thorough investigation and filed a 1,160-page charge sheet. The co-accused in the case, V Murugan, assistant professor, formerly with the MKU, and S Karuppasamy, former research scholar, were acquitted for lack of evidence.