The all-women police, Sembium, on Thursday arrested a 56-year-old Child Welfare Committee (CWC) member and launched a hunt for her 51-year-old brother in a case pertaining to the rape of two inmates of a home.
The police said Isabel Richardson was the executive secretary of the organisation which shelters women and children rescued from trafficking and sexual abuse. She had allegedly allowed her brother to stay at the home in violation of rules.
Isabel Richardson was picked up by police from her house in Thiruvottiyur and remanded in judicial custody, said police sources.
Her brother Bennet Richardson, 51, who had been in Puducherry for many years, joined the home as a caregiver with the help of his sister last year. He was asked to stop working there for reasons unknown, the police said. Again, he returned in June and using her official position, Isabel Richardson allowed him to stay at the home.
Sources said that on June 23, Bennet Richardson raped a 20-year-old woman who had already been sexually assaulted by her uncle and was sheltered at the home for rehabilitation. He also allegedly committed sexual assault on a 15-year-old girl. When the matter was reported to Isabel Richardson, she reportedly told her brother to go back to Puducherry.
Later, the matter came to the notice of the management of the home and an internal inquiry was conducted.
When the committee recommended her suspension, she said she would resign from the post in two weeks and did so on Wednesday.
She was also suspended from the Child Welfare Committe member post on Thursday.
