Five caregivers working at a daycare centre operating inside Capgemini's Brookefield campus in Bengaluru have been booked for allegedly subjecting toddlers to physical and mental abuse, including making them sit inside a front-loading washing machine, locking them inside bathrooms and spraying water into their mouths with a toilet jet spray. The incident came to light after videos purportedly showing the abuse surfaced, triggering a police investigation and widespread outrage.
The HAL Police registered a case against Manjula, Vijayalakshmi, Bhavani, Sindhu and Bindu under relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The complaint was filed by a child helpline official after receiving four videos allegedly showing the abuse. Police sources said the videos were recorded by a staff member whose friend had recently been dismissed from the daycare.
The videos reportedly show caregivers threatening children aged between two and three years whenever they cried or created a disturbance. The toddlers are children of employees working at the technology campus.
Police inspected the daycare facility, collected CCTV footage and said they would question parents or guardians to ascertain whether the children had shown signs of abuse or complained about their treatment. A senior police officer also said notices would be issued to the five caregivers, directing them to appear for questioning.
Investigators are recording statements from complainants, daycare staff and other witnesses, while a separate complaint has also been submitted before the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights seeking its intervention.
The FIR was registered on June 29 following a complaint by Tilakesh Kumar, a legal-cum-probation officer with the District Child Protection Unit, after he received videos via WhatsApp allegedly showing children being subjected to abuse inside the creche.
Police are also verifying the authenticity of the videos and the sequence of events as part of the ongoing investigation.
In a statement, Capgemini said, "Capgemini's foremost priority is the health, safety and well-being of its employees and their families. We are cooperating fully with the relevant authorities and assisting them in their efforts to establish the facts. As a precautionary measure, we are temporarily closing the Bengaluru on-campus daycare facility."