Caregivers at a daycare inside the Bengaluru campus of Capgemini had likely systematically abused young children dropped off at the centre by the global consulting firm’s employees, a district child protection officer told NDTV Thursday.
Probation Officer Tilakesh Kumar said between 50 and 60 children had been enrolled at the centre, of whom 15 to 20 attended on a daily basis. “This has been happening for a long time…” he said, “Earlier, someone informed the supervisor but (then) said no action was taken.” The previous whistleblower, Kumar said, was fired after reporting the abuse.
He also said the authorities had suspected child abuse but had never been able to prove it, till now.
Horrific videos of the abuse were shared by the complainant this week, showing children as young as two years sitting inside a washing machine with water being jet-sprayed at them. Other videos showed them being locked inside bathrooms.
RECAP | Toddlers Kept In Washing Machines, Locked In Bathrooms: Horror At Bengaluru Daycare
The videos prompted a complaint with the children’s helpline.
“The people who are supposed to take care of the children… they abuse them because the children cry or make some sound. To stop them crying, they take the child and put him/her inside washing machines and lock them in the bathroom…this is the complaint we got,” Kumar said. “After this we contacted the complainant… and they shared the videos with us.”
“So immediately we went to the police station and filed the complaint,” he said.
A police case has now been filed against five caregivers and the videos were submitted to the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
Capgemini said its “foremost priority is the health, safety, and well-being of its employees and their families”. It also said it “cooperating fully” with the investigation and announced the temporary closure of the facility as a “precautionary measure”.
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