IT giant Capgemini closes Bengaluru nursery after reports of alleged abuse: Here’s what happened | Today’s news
IT giant Capgemini on Wednesday temporarily closed its nursery in Bengaluru following reports of alleged abuse of children aged between two and three years at the centre.
In a statement, the company said: “Capgemini’s top 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 fact-finding efforts. As a precautionary measure, we are temporarily closing the day care facility in Bengaluru.”
Why Capgemini closed its nursery in Bengaluru
After disturbing videos of the abuse surfaced online, five nannies at a crèche at the Capgemini campus in East Bengaluru have been charged with child cruelty, ANI reported.
The videos allegedly showed nannies placing toddlers in washing machines, spraying water in their mouths with toilet spray and locking them in washrooms to stop them from crying.
Police identified the five nannies as Manjula, Vijayalakshmi, Bhavani, Sindhu and Bindu. The HAL police registered a case under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and Section 351 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act for intimidation.
Police said the toddlers were also forced to sit on western-style dressers and threatened to keep quiet, ANI reported. Most parents of toddlers are IT professionals working in a company. The case gained attention after a child helpline officer obtained four videos and informed the police. Citing police sources, ANI said the recording was recorded by an employee whose boyfriend had recently been dismissed from the nursery school.
According to media reports, the police registered an FIR on June 29 at the HAL police station on the complaint of District Child Protection Unit Officer Tilakesh Kumar, who received these videos on WhatsApp from Capgemini’s Brookfield nursery school.
Police are inspecting the premises, obtaining CCTV footage
On Wednesday, the HAL police inspected the premises and obtained the CCTV footage. In addition, notices were sent to all the five accused directing them to appear for questioning.
A senior police officer said investigators would contact the parents of the toddlers to see if they had noticed any signs of abuse or if the children had reported being abused.
According to Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, anyone who is responsible for the care of a child and exposes the child to abuse can face a prison sentence of between three and ten years.
A senior police officer said, “The accused women are being questioned and we are also verifying the authenticity of the videos and trying to find out when the incidents took place and whether more children were subjected to similar abuse.”
They have not been arrested yet, the police said, adding that further investigation is underway, PTI reported.