Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Tuesday rejected the allegation and the suspicion that Nirmala Devi, an assistant professor at an Arupukottai college who was arrested on charges of attempted trafficking, may have insinuated the involvement of either him or his office.
“I have not seen the [woman’s] face till today. What you are talking... I am surrounded by my entire team. Even the bird cannot approach me without my permission... Nobody on this earth can level such vague charges against me,” a visibly agitated Governor said in response to a query at a first-of-its-kind press conference held at the Raj Bhavan in many decades. He termed the accusations, “false, baseless and nonsense.”
Meanwhile, Director General of Police T.K. Rajendran transferred the investigation of the police case from the Arupukkottai police to the Crime Branch CID.
Nirmala Devi was on Tuesday remanded in judicial custody for 12 days.
Though the Governor maintained that the rare press conference was called only to mark the completion of six months of his present tenure, Madurai Kamaraj University Vice-Chancellor P.P. Chellathurai and another university official were present with him.
To repeated questions over Nirmala Devi reportedly mentioning his office, the Governor said he had completed 78 years of age. “I have a grandson and a great grandson. I am that lucky. Don’t utter such words from your mouth,” he admonished a reporter.
The one-man committee led by retired IAS officer R. Santhanam ( read interview ) , constituted by him, would submit the report within a week and, based on the report, he would take stringent action, the Governor said. When asked whether he would transfer the probe to the CBI, Mr. Purohit said he would wait for the report by the retired IAS officer.
As for criticism that he had appointed a man to probe the issue, contrary to Supreme Court guidelines on such cases, the Governor said the inquiring officer was free to take the help of a woman, if needed. He sought to know if there would be similar distrust in case a male Supreme Court judge headed such a probe.
Rejecting questions on whether the probe he has ordered would be on a parallel track when the CB-CID would be investigating the case, the Governor said the police would do its job and “as far as the university was concerned”, as the Chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University, he was doing his job. Mr. Purohit went on to read and cite from the university’s statutes to contend that he had inherent powers to order for a probe without consulting the State government. The government cannot intervene in university affairs, he contended.
As to whether Nirmala Devi could be questioned by the inquiring officer when she was in judicial custody, the Governor said as a senior officer retired in the rank of Chief Secretary, he (Mr. Santhanam) would know how to go about it.
