By Express News Service
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit has said that he has not even seen face of the suspended assistant professor Nirmala Devi, who has been arrested for on charges of luring four of her girl students to extend sexual favours to senior officials.
At a press meet at Raj Bhavan in Chennai today, the Purohit said, "I have not even seen her face... I have grandchildren and great-grandchildren... I am 78-years old.."
Nirmala Devi, who was working as an assistant professor in a private college in Virudhunagar district in Tamil Nadu, was arrested on Monday after a recording of a telephone conversation she had with her four students went viral in social media.
In the telephonic conversation, Nirmala Devi was allegedly luring the girl students to extend sexual favours to certain senior officials and in turn promised them support- both 'academically and financially'.
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The governor has appointed a retired IAS officer to enquire the issue.
Reporters questioned the governor whether it is fair for him to stay away from the probe on the issue because Nirmala Devi had also mentioned the governor during her phone conversation with the girl students. The governor avoided a direct answer and said "
Did you hear the audio? She even refers me as grand father", even as he maintained that he didn't know who Nirmala Devi was.
"I have lived my entire life transparent," he said.
On questions about if people would believe it to be a fair probe if the committee is going to report to him, Banwarilal Purohit said, "Everybody expects."
When questioned about why he was giving a press conference today, when he had remained silent during the Cauvery and other raging issues, Purohit said the press conference is only to mark his completion of six months as governor of Tamil Nadu. But he did not explain why the Madurai Kamarajar University Vice chancellor P
Chellathurai was also accompanying him during the press conference.
