Nakkheeran Gopal, editor of Tamil weekly, arrested for reportage on sex-for-degree scam at Madurai university

A well-known editor of a Tamil weekly was arrested on Tuesday for reporting on an alleged sex scandal at the Madurai Kamaraj University, reportedly on the basis of a complaint filed by Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit. Senior journalist Nakkheeran Gopal, also the editor of Tamil magazine Nakkheeran was arrested by the police at Chennai International Airport while he was on his way to Pune, airport officials said. [caption id=“attachment_5343351” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Nakkheeran Gopal was arrested for alleging links in sex for degree case. Twitter @nakkheeranweb[/caption] The weekly’s website claimed Gopal was arrested based on a complaint from the Raj Bhavan over a write-up on Nirmala Devi, an assistant professor of a private college in Virudhunagar, who had been arrested for allegedly prodding female students to extend sexual favours to officials. However, there was no immediate confirmation from police officials on the reason behind Gopal’s arrest, even as officials in the Raj Bhavan could not be reached for a comment_._  Nakkheeran had carried a story on the alleged sex scandal , reporting that Devi had met Purohit four times, while another audio clip surfaced in which Devi was heard claiming that she knows  the governor and asked students to “adjust with higher officials.” In a 20-minute-long conversation taped by unknown sources, Devi is heard telling four of her BSc (Maths) third year students that must “adjust with higher officials”, promising financial support, even a monthly salary and all kinds of academic help. She specifically refers to the video of the meeting the governor recently addressed at the University, offering that as evidence of her access to people in powerful positions. In Tamil, she says, “Governor thatha illai (the governor is not an old man)”. In the audio clip, the professor does not explicitly say the students have to extend sexual favours but leaves enough hints as to what she was trying to convey. Meanwhile, Purohit said that he has not even seen face of Devi, who has been arrested on charges of luring four of her girl students to extend sexual favours to senior university officials. “I do not know the lady… I am above politics. Strict action will be taken if someone is found guilty. We will get to know only after an inquiry,” Purohit had said . With inputs from PTI