Muzaffarpur case: Brajesh Thakur's close aide Madhu appears

A close aide of Brajesh Thakur, the prime accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home sex scandal case, on Tuesday appeared before the CBI and said she was not aware of what happened at the shelter home.

Stating that she was not an accused nor a warrant had been issued against her, Madhu said she decided to meet CBI officials as the investigators visited her residence several times causing inconvenience to her family members.

"I have nothing to fear as I was not even associated with the shelter home which is under scanner. I did work for Thakur but I have no knowledge of what happened there," Madhu told reporters with her face covered with a dupatta.

CBI officials took her inside their camp office located in the district court premises here. She was accompanied by her lawyers.

"I am ready to extend full cooperation to the CBI, though I am privy to no secrets. I cannot say whether Thakur was involved in any illegal activities. Although I also handled the affairs of some of his newspapers, I deny reports that I used to liaison with ministers and other VIPs to promote Thakur's business," she said before going inside the CBI office.

Asked about reports that she had been hiding in Nepal, Madhu replied with a laugh that she was very much in Bihar and not in hiding.

"I had no reason to hide. The reason I have now chosen to appear before the CBI is that recently the investigators have visited my residence a number of times and this was causing inconvenience to my family members," she said.

Madhu, who was earlier known as Shaista, was a resident of Chaturbhuj Sthan locality in the town and had come in contact with Thakur a few years back when a drive was launched to rehabilitate girls from a red light area there.

Media reports claimed that she used to manage the affairs of all NGOs owned by Thakur, including the Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti, which ran the shelter home where inmates were sexually abused.

The issue was first highlighted in an audit report submitted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to the state's social welfare department.

An FIR was lodged on May 31 against 11 people, including Thakur, who was running the shelter home.

The probe was later taken over by the CBI and so far 17 people including Thakur have been arrested.