Sex Scandal Accused Nirmala Devi Never Entered Raj Bhavan, Has no Acquaintance With TN Governor Banwarilal Purohit: Raj Bhavan

Days after a Chennai court turned down the police’s request for judicial custody of Tamil weekly “Nakkheeran” Editor R.R. Gopal, Raj Bhavan released a statement saying sex scandal accused Assistant Professor Nirmala Devi never had any acquaintance with Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit or any other official.

Chennai: Days after a Chennai court turned down the police’s request for judicial custody of Tamil weekly “Nakkheeran” Editor R.R. Gopal, Raj Bhavan released a statement saying sex scandal accused Assistant Professor Nirmala Devi never had any acquaintance with Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit or any other official.

“Truth is that Nirmala Devi has never entered Raj Bhavan in last 1 year and she does not have any acquaintance with Honourable Tamil Nadu Governor or the Secretary to the Governor or any of the Officers,” the statement from Raj Bhavan said, adding, “In Madurai, the Honourable Governor never visited the University guest house when he was invited there for the Mother Theresa University Convocation which was being held in the Madurai Kamaraj University. He has at no point of time stayed in the guest house.”

The statement has come two days after senior journalist R.R. Gopal was arrested on a complaint from Raj Bhavan for allegedly publishing reportage on Nirmala Devi case that was defamatory of Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit. He was, however, later released.

The article had linked the office of the Governor to Nirmala Devi, an Assistant Professor who was arrested sometime back for allegedly luring college girls to provide sexual favours to officials of Madurai Kamaraj University in exchange for marks. Purohit was chancellor of the university. It was then alleged that Purohit had met the accused professor. Purohit had also denied the allegations saying he never met Devi.

Speaking on the articles in the Nakkheera, the statement said that it is “a matter of humour to hear people say that press freedom is being threatened on the count, of action, being taken under the law after much patience and tolerance to stop a slanderous, vulgar and cowardly way of attacking the first citizen of the state.”

“Every issue has its limits and Raj Bhavan was maintaining a dignified silence for more than six months…. It was indeed shocking to see a resurfacing of yellow journalism in an issue of the magazine Nakkeeran…Those who claim to be engaged in investigative journalism have not even bothered to verify the actual statement given by Tmt. Nirmala Devi before the police,” the Raj Bhavan statement read.