TN Professor Sent To Prison For Sex Trafficking Students: Details Here

Nirmala Devi, a former assistant professor of Devanga Arts College in Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, was convicted of trafficking four students into sex work. On April 30, a fast-track court for women's cases in Srivilliputhur sentenced her to 10 years in prison, The Hindu reported. The news came into public view in 2018 when a telephonic conversation was leaked online, leading to Devi's suspension along with V Murugan, another assistant professor, and S Karuppasamy, a former research scholar. In the latest development, Judge T T Bagavathiammal found Devi guilty on five counts but acquitted the two others. 

Nirmala Devi was a part of the Mathematics Department of the college which is affiliated to Madurai Kamaraj University. She was found guilty of attempting to convince four female students into sex work for a male senior staff. In the leaked 19-minute conversation, she was heard telling women on the other side about an "opportunity". 

Phone Conversation Exposes Crime

In the phone conversation, Devi asserted that they are expecting the girls to do certain things ‘secretly’ for the senior official of MKU. She said, "He is an official and you will be getting full financial and academic support. On the academic side, I can take the four of you to a big level, I can assure you that."

Devi attempted to lure the girls by saying, "He is an official and you will be getting full financial and academic support. On the academic side, I can take the four of you to a big level, I can assure you that." However, the students declined the offer. One of them says, "We are not interested and not willing to talk about it further." 

One of the students rejected Devi's offer and instead demanded a government job. Reacting to this, the assistant professor says "For any such post you’d be needing political influence." She insisted the students rethink the offer, saying, “You all just think again. I will speak to you next week... You won’t get another opportunity like this. You think about it again."

Suspended, Guilty Of Trafficking

The four final year B.Sc students filed a written complaint against Nirmala Devi on March 19, 2018, The Hindu reported. The assistant professor said that her offer for the students was misconstrued. She admitted that the audio tape was her voice. However, she denies that she has asked them to lure her into sex work.

Devi was suspended by college authorities on March 21, 2018. Ramasamy, principal-in-charge said, "We took down the report and immediately contacted the professor. She was away for some course but she was made to come back to college immediately. We then suspended her and she remains suspended till now."

Devi was arrested by Aruppukottai Town police along with Murugan and Karuppasamy for their involvement. The trio was charged under Sections 370 (1) and (3) (trafficking of person), and 120 (B) (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code as well as under the Immoral Trafficking Act, Information Technology Act, and the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act.

While Devi was convicted on April 29, Murugan and Kuppasamy were acquitted by the fast-track women's court, a report in the news agency Indo-Asian News Service stated.