Santhanam to question Nirmala in Madurai central prison today

The ex-IAS officer, who was here to conduct the second round of investigation into the case, conveyed this to newspersons here on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, a lawyer practising at the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court appeared before the Santhanam Committee and informed that Nirmala Devi had earlier approached two more college students and had asked them to ‘impress’ higher officials of MKU.

As none had appeared before the panel during the first round of investigation, the panel held its second round of hearing on Wednesday. After interacting with the committee, Muthukumar, the lawyer, told media persons that apart from the girls who had spoken in the audio there were several other students lured by Nirmala Devi. 

He claimed that the parents of the two girls informed him three months ago that Nirmala Devi had approached their daughters seeking to ‘impress’ MKU higher officials. He had ignored their charges at that time. Now that it has become a serious issue, he appeared before the panel and informed whatever the parents told him. 

Muthukumar also said that many of the girls approached by Nirmala Devi could be minors. So, a case under Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act should be registered against Nirmala Devi.

Following Muthukumar, K Kudalingam, Regional Joint Director (Madurai), Directorate of Collegiate Education, appeared before the committee as he summoned because the Aruppukottai college in which Nirmala Devi worked came under his jurisdiction. 

The director said he had no idea about the issue earlier and that he received a report only after the audio got leaked. The second round of investigation by Sathanam Committee is expected to finish by Saturday.