Bengaluru police have arrested two women in the alleged abuse of toddlers case at the daycare facility of the Capgemini IT corporate campus in Brookefield. The HAL police have arrested Manjula and Vijayalakshmi, both working as creche staff at the centre. Vijayalakshmi has also been identified allegedly as the woman seen in the video of the abuse.
Manjula, the prime accused in the case, is also accused of hiring the other women to the daycare centre. “Vijayalakshmi has been named Accused No. 2 in the FIR registered in the case. She will be produced before the court soon, and police will seek her custody for further interrogation," said Commissioner of Police for Bengaluru City, Seemanth Kumar Singh.
The police had earlier registered an FIR against five women linked to the centre, Manjula, Vijayalakshmi, Bhavani, Sindhu and Bindu, and the police began an investigation to identify whether these were isolated incidents or part of a repeated pattern of abuse. The FIR was registered under Section 352(2) (‘simple’ criminal intimidation) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 75 (cruelty to children) under the Juvenile Justice Act.
The Bengaluru police said on Thursday that a senior female officer would conduct an inquiry into the claims, expanding their investigation to include all daycare facilities in the city to ensure they adhere to established protocols.
Videos on social media revealed that the children were being subjected to physical abuse and torture by the daycare staff. The videos were recorded by an employee at the daycare centre who was fired from the job after raising a complaint. Police sources close to the investigation said that she shared the videos with a family member, who sent them to a Child Protection Officer.
According to the Police Commissioner, they received a complaint alleging that the staff locked the kids in bathrooms, made them sit on a western-style toilet, forced them inside the drum of a front-loading washing machine, sprayed water in their mouths with a toilet jet spray, and threatened to keep them quiet.
After that, the police examined the area and gathered the centre's CCTV footage. “We’re examining the complaint and the videos submitted as evidence. The Joint Commissioner (East) and the DCP Whitefield are at the location verifying the facts,” said a senior police officer quoted by the Times of India.
Additionally, a woman officer of DCP rank has been tasked with looking into the matter. “If anyone has supported them, or if this has been happening for a long time, all such acts will be brought to light. No one will be spared,” the police told the Times of India.
Capgemini has temporarily shut down its on-campus daycare facility. "Capgemini's foremost priority is the health, safety and wellbeing of its employees and their families. We are cooperating fully with the relevant authorities and assisting them in their efforts to establish the facts,” the company said in a statement.
The police said that they are yet to take statements from the parents of the children since the parents had to work on Thursday and couldn’t come to give their statements.
A complaint has also been given to the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights after a petition requested its assistance.
This article was written by a student interning with TNM.