Toddlers at a workplace creche in India were allegedly locked inside washing machines and pushed into narrow water-filled pipes in a case that has sparked public outrage and prompted the police to file a criminal case.
The creche, located on the campus of Capgemini in Bengaluru, India's technology hub, was temporarily closed after police named five daycare workers in the criminal case.
Police have so far arrested two women and are investigating other suspects who worked at the childcare facility of the Indian unit of French IT services firm Capgemini.
In a statement to The Independent, Capgemini said the facility was run by an external provider called Little Scholars and not the company itself.
Around 60 children were enrolled at the centre, of whom up to 20 attended it on a daily basis, according to local news reports.
"This has been happening for a long time. Earlier, someone informed the supervisor but (then) said no action was taken," one official said.
"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," the official said, according to NDTV.
Police said parents were horrified by videos purportedly showing the children being locked inside washing machines to frighten them, forced into narrow pipes, stuffed into bathroom spaces, and hosed down with toilet jet sprays.
They said the videos also showed creche workers spraying water into the mouths of children when they would not stop crying.
The toddlers are the children of employees of Capgemini – a French technology company with a major presence in the country.
Police filed a criminal complaint on 29 June after a district child protection officer received the videos via WhatsApp.
Saidulu Adavath, deputy commissioner of police for the Whitefield division, confirmed that a case had been registered.
"We have initiated an investigation. Notices will be served to the individuals responsible and they will be summoned for interrogation," he told the Indian Express.
The initial police complaint named five women employed by the creche.
They have found substantial evidence against two of them, and more arrests are to follow, NDTV reported.
In its statement, Capgemini said that it was temporarily shutting the facility, was cooperating with authorities "to clarify the facts and support that those responsible are held accountable", and was reassessing all of its daycare providers across its facilities in India.
"Our first thoughts are with the children and their families. We are extending all our support to them," it said. "Our daycare providers are subject to rigorous due diligence and compliance checks. These facilities support our employees, who entrust their children to these centres."
Capgemini said the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights had found the company did not bear direct liability as the operation of the facility was outsourced.
The case has drawn widespread attention in India, where workplace creches at large corporate campuses are a common feature of employment packages, particularly in the technology sector.
Bengaluru is home to the India operations of many of the world’s largest technology companies and, therefore, boasts one of the highest concentrations of such facilities in the country.
