‘My husband was made a scapegoat in Nirmala case’

The Nirmala Devi soliciting scandal took a new turn on Saturday, when Suja, wife of Murugan, the arrested assistant professor of Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU), deposed before the one-man Santhanam commission and said her husband has been made a scapegoat to facilitate the escape of MKU ‘higher officials’. 

On Saturday, Suja along with her parents deposed before the one-man commission and submitted their written representations. 

Following it, they met media representatives during which Suja said her husband had met assistant professor Nirmala Devi only thrice and that too in the presence of Karuppasamy, the arrested former research scholar of MKU. 

“Karuppasamy introduced Nirmala Devi to my husband and he helped her only once. He never spoke to Nirmala Devi over phone,” said Suja. 

She said that during the first meeting, Nirmala Devi asked Murugan to help her enroll in a refresher course though he had told her that he does not have to recommend her for it. 

He had also asked her to meet higher officials to recommend her for the refresher course. 

In the second meeting, Nirmala Devi, after getting enrolled in the refresher course, had urged her husband to arrange for her accommodation in the MKU guest house. But, Murugan had directed her to meet a clerk for the room and asked Karuppasamy to meet the clerk. 

In the allotted room, there were already three women teaching staff and after that, Nirmala Devi was shifted to an air-conditioned room based on the recommendation of a ‘higher official’. The same ‘official’ had visited her room several times during her stay there. 

The third meeting of Nirmala Devi with Murugan was after the audio of Nirmala Devi allegedly luring students for soliciting ‘higher officials’ was leaked and she was suspended. 

Nirmala Devi had requested her husband to help her again though he had again asked her to approach the higher officials for whom she allegedly sought to solicit the girls, said Suja. 

She said that for reasons unknown, Nirmala Devi had named her husband in the investigation and he was made a scapegoat to save ‘higher officials’ of the MKU. When asked about the ‘higher officials’ whom Nirmala Devi tried to save, Suja said she had no idea about it. 

She added that after the audio was leaked, two persons from the MKU approached them and asked them to leave the town. 

When asked about their identity, she said their life would be in danger if she revealed it.