Bengaluru’s HAL police have arrested the whistleblower who exposed child abuse at the Little Scholars daycare centre operating inside the Capgemini campus in Brookefield. Police have accused the former nanny, Sujatha, of abusing children herself, including allegedly locking toddlers inside the crèche bathroom and recording videos of them in distress. The arrest has, however, sparked concern among child protection officials, who fear it could discourage future whistleblowers.
According to investigators, 45-year-old Sujatha, a resident of Kolar, was employed at the daycare when the alleged abuse took place. During her tenure, she allegedly recorded videos showing caregivers physically assaulting children. She was later dismissed from her job.
Police said Sujatha subsequently shared the videos with a male friend, who forwarded them via WhatsApp to the Child Helpline, triggering an investigation into the daycare.
A court has remanded Sujatha to 14 days of judicial custody. She is the second person to be arrested in the case after another nanny Vijayalakshmi, who was earlier taken into custody.
According to the police, Sujatha had differences with fellow nannies and her supervisor, and investigators believe she recorded the videos to implicate her colleagues rather than to report the abuse.
“There is video evidence of Vijayalakshmi locking a two-and-a-half-year-old child inside a bathroom. Sujatha, too, is alleged to have committed a similar act,” a police officer told The Times of India.
Police have also questioned Sujatha’s motive in exposing the abuse. Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh told the newspaper that her primary intention appeared to be getting the other nannies into trouble rather than reporting child abuse.
“She recorded the videos on June 22 but they reached the Child Helpline only on June 29. If the children’s welfare was her primary concern, why was there a delay of seven days? Why did she share videos of the children with a third person, potentially violating provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015?” Singh was quoted as saying.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Mohammad Sujeetha, who headed the investigation, found sufficient grounds to arrest Sujatha, the report added.
The arrest has drawn criticism from child protection officials, who argue that the focus should remain on those accused of abusing the children.
“The priority should be to investigate the suspects who abused and assaulted the children. The videos became crucial evidence exposing what was happening inside the daycare. If the police focus on prosecuting the person who brought the abuse to light, it could send the wrong message to others who witness similar incidents,” a senior Child Protection Unit official told Deccan Herald.
The official warned that whistleblowers are often instrumental in uncovering abuse that would otherwise remain hidden.
“If those who expose child abuse fear arrest or criminal proceedings, many people may choose to remain silent. That could prevent similar incidents from coming to light in the future,” the official said.
The videos show caregivers intimidating toddlers whenever they cried or caused a disturbance. According to the FIR registered on June 29, children were allegedly placed inside front-loading washing machines, made to sit inside western-style toilet commodes, sprayed with toilet jets, locked inside bathrooms and threatened into silence.
