TN trainer not linked with NDMA, forged documents
How could the college simply allow someone claiming himself to be an NDMA personnel to put students’ lives at risk? They should have checked his background properly PAALAM NARAYANAN, human rights activist
CHENNAI:A day after the death of a 19-year-old student in a mock exercise at her college in Coimbatore, it emerged on Friday that the man leading the drill wasn’t associated with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) as he claimed to be.
The trainer, G Aarumugam, is in police custody. Coimbatore police said he had claimed to be an NDMA personnel. On Thursday, N Logeswari, a second-year Bachelor of Business Administration student at Kovai Kalaimagal College of Arts and Science in Coimbatore’s Narasipuram, died when she was forced to jump from the second floor of her college building during the drill.
Hours after the incident, NDMA said Aarumugam, who belongs to Vandalur near Chennai, did not have any links with the authority. Coimbatore police said the documents which the trainer had submitted to the college management were forged.
“During interrogation, we found that he was not associated with the NDMA,” Pa Moorthy, superintendent of police, Coimbatore district, said. “The letter which he had given to the institution was fake. He claims that he is approved by the NDMA, but there is no proof of that. Therefore, we can consider this as an impersonation. Since he had done the drill at many colleges, the probe will look into all of that,” he added.
Human rights activist Paalam Narayanan urged the government to act against the college management for failing to conduct a proper background check.
“How could the college management simply allow someone claiming himself to be an NDMA personnel to put students’ lives at risk? They should have examined his background. As the drill is about the lives of young students, the management should have deployed its representatives to ensure safety,” Narayanan said.
When contacted, N Mala, principal of the college, said: “We have followed all the norms for the drill. We had arranged proper security measures. However, this is an unexpected and unfortunate event. The police have got all the necessary documents. We cannot offer any other comments.”
Rekha Nambiyar, Commandant,nationaldisasterresponse Force, Tamil Nadu, urged education institutions to seek prior permission from the agency before conducting such drills.
“Educational institutions in Tamil Nadu should get proper prior approval from us to conduct the disaster management drills,” Nambiyar told reporters.
Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy announced a solatium of ~5 lakh to Logeswari’s family. Lok Sabha deputy speaker M Thambidurai ,in an election affidavit filed by him during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, had declared that his wife Banumathi was the honorary chairman of the Kovai Kalaimagal educational institution of Coimbatore.
The principal claimed that Thambidurai’s wife currently doest not hold the post.