Court extends remand of Brajesh Thakur aides by another 4 days

A court here Monday extended the CBI remand of two key aides of Brajesh Thakur, prime accused in the shelter home sex scandal, by another four days.

Special POCSO judge R P Tiwari extended the CBI remand of Madhu Kumari and Ashwani by four days, though the investigating agency had sought the same for five days.

Appearing for Madhu, who was arrested last month after remaining traceless for many months, counsel Priya Ranjan alleged before the court that his client was being subjected to "torture" in the custody of the CBI and opposed the probe agency's request for extending the remand.

The court, however, granted the extension while warning the CBI that no torture should take place during questioning.

Madhu, who managed many NGOs, newspapers and other businesses of Thakur, was arrested on November 21, a day after she made a dramatic appearance in the district court premises with the claim that she had come to "cooperate" in the investigation since she was miffed over the inconvenience faced by her family members when CBI personnel visited her house to know her whereabouts.

She also claimed that contrary to reports, she had been very much in Bihar and was not on the run, pointing out that no warrant had been issued against her till then nor was she named as an accused in any case.

Ashwani, a self-styled medical practitioner who was attached to the shelter home as a "doctor", was arrested on November 20 from his village in Kurhani block of the district.

Media reports have alleged that inmates of the shelter home were administered injections laced with sedatives by Ashwani, with Madhu's help, before they were sexually abused.

The scandal had come to light in a report of social audit conducted by the Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Thakur and a number of his employees were arrested in June by the police and the probe was handed over to the CBI in July.

Two suspended officials of the social welfare department, Ravi Raushan and Rosy Rani, are also in jail in connection with the case. Both are lodged at the Beur Central Jail in Patna.

Thakur, who was initially shifted to Bhagalpur in view of the fact that he was a "renowned citizen" and his presence in Muzaffarpur could come in the way of a fair probe, is at present lodged in a jail in Patiala following an order to the effect passed by the Supreme Court.