Nirmala Devi takes voice test

Chennai: Nearly two months after Nirmala Devi, an assistant professor of Devanga arts and science college in Aruppukottai,  was arrested for alleged ‘misguiding’ girl students, the CB-CID police conducted a voice test on the tainted professor at Forensic Science Laboratory in Chennai, on Thursday.

Nirmala Devi was arrested by the police after call recordings of her circulated on social media. In voice call recordings, Nirmala Devi was allegedly coercing the girl students to indulge in sex with some influential people for marks and grades.

The police also arrested another professor Murugan and research student Karuppasamy of Madurai Kamarajar University in connection with the case.

Meanwhile, CB-CID police, probing the case, had solicited Madurai Bench of Madras high court to grant permission to take Nirmala Devi to Chennai for the voice test, citing the lack of such facility in Madurai.

The court accorded permission to CB-CID police to take Nirmala Devi to Chennai, following which she was escorted to Chennai on Wednesday and lodged in Puzhal central prison.

On Thursday morning, she was taken to forensic science laboratory on DGP office premises near Marina Beach amid tight security. The voice test commenced at around 10.20 am and completed at around 2 pm. More than three-hour long test was conducted in the presence of deputy director (forensic) Hemalatha and assistant director Natarajan.

According to sources, the forensic experts asked Nirmala Devi to repeat what she had allegedly spoken over the phone with the students. “The voice test had been conducted in many stages in which Nirmala Devi was asked to speak already prepared sentences,” a source said.

The sources also said that a report would be prepared according to the voice test in two days and the same would be submitted to the court. Immediately after the test, she was taken to Puzhal prison where she was lodged for the night. She would be taken to Madurai on Friday.