Patna, Nov 20 (IANS): One of the accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home horror, Madhu Kumari, who has been absconding for nearly six months, appeared before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and surrendered in a court on Tuesday.

Kumari, who had been absconding since the police registered a case on May 31 against 11 persons including her and the main accused Brajesh Thakur, in a surprise development for the CBI officials in Muzaffarpur, appeared before them and claimed innocence. Soon after she surrendered in a local court.

Kumari informed the officials that she does not have close relations with Thakur and worked as his employee.

According to police officials, Kumari, a resident of Chaturbhuj Sthan, a red light area in Muzaffarpur, had been working with Thakur's NGO as a social worker since 2001.

The CBI is probing the case and the Supreme Court is monitoring it.

Of the 42 girls lodged at the short-stay home run by Thakur's NGO, 34 were found to have been sexually assaulted. The crime came to light after a social audit by the Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai.

The shelter home has been sealed.