MADURAI: The police on Friday arrested a 44-year-old Child Welfare Committee (CWC) member from Virudhunagar district,
D Raja Sakthivel, on charges of allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl on multiple occasions over six months. Sakthivel has been booked under the Pocso Act.
The warden of a private children’s shelter within the Villur police station limits in Madurai district, C Mercy Annapurani, was also booked on Thursday. However, she is absconding.
The Peraiyur AWPS police said that the crime came to light after the girl informed her single-mother of the sexual assault by Sakthivel while staying at the private home in Villur. The girl claimed the crime occurred when the CWC member visited the shelter, where he had earlier worked.
Following this, the private home was sealed, and the other children were shifted to a government home.