Ashwani Kumar and Madhu are reportedly close aides of Brajesh Thakur
Two close aides of Brajesh Thakur, the prime accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case in which the girl inmates of the home were sexually abused, were remanded in a five-day CBI custody by a court in Muzaffarpur Wednesday.
The special court hearing cases filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act passed the order, declining the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) request for a seven-day custody of Madhu and Ashwani Kumar -- who allegedly posed as a doctor -- and posted the matter to November 26 for further hearing.
Madhu, who was grilled by the police Tuesday afternoon, was arrested Wednesday morning and made to undergo medical tests at the Sadar hospital, before being produced before the court, along with Ashwani, who was arrested the previous night.
Madhu, who handled many businesses of Thakur, had told reporters on Tuesday that she was not hiding but did not appear before the probe agency as she was never named as an accused nor was a warrant issued against her.
She had also claimed that she knew nothing about the goings on at the shelter home, was "privy to no secrets" and refuted the media reports that she used to liaison with influential people to promote Thakur's NGOs, newspapers and other businesses.
Kumar, who was arrested from his in-laws' place, did not have any medical background.
He learnt how to administer injections while sitting in the clinic of his father, a doctor, at Kurhani, about 30 km from Muzaffarpur town.
He was associated with Thakur's NGO and allegedly used to administer injections laced with sedatives to the shelter home inmates before they were subjected to sexual abuse, sources close to Kumar said.
A number of people have so far been arrested in connection with the high-profile scandal, which came to light following a social audit of the shelter homes in Bihar conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) earlier this year.
The accused include many former employees of Thakur and a few of his close relatives, besides two state social welfare department officials -- Ravi Raushan and Rosy Rani -- who have been placed under suspension.
While Thakur is lodged at a jail in Punjab's Patiala following a Supreme Court order, Raushan and Rani are at the Beur Central Jail in Patna.