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Indian police have arrested one woman and are investigating four other suspects who worked at a childcare facility at the Indian unit of French IT services firm Capgemini following allegations of child abuse at the centre, police said on Friday.
The investigation was launched after police received information and videos that they said showed children being subjected to physical and mental abuse at the daycare centre in Bengaluru, according to a complaint registered with police on June 29 that was reviewed by Reuters.
The complaint was filed after information was received through a children’s helpline and videos of crying children were shared via WhatsApp.
The complaint alleges that staff at the daycare centre operating on Capgemini’s campus physically abused and intimidated children in their care, including by threatening crying children that they would be put in a washing machine.
Capgemini said the daycare facility was managed by an external service provider and it had been temporarily closed while authorities investigate the allegations.
Bengaluru police said the daycare facility was managed by a firm called Little Scholars. Reuters could not immediately reach the firm for comment.
India’s National Human Rights Commission said on Friday it had issued notices to Karnataka state’s most senior official and the police chief, seeking a detailed report within two weeks. Bengaluru is the capital of Karnataka state.
GLOBAL TECH HUB
Bengaluru is one of the world’s largest technology hubs and a growing number of employers provide childcare support, including on-campus daycare facilities, as part of employee welfare programmes.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh told Reuters he had directed officials to review company daycare facilities across the city to ensure compliance with regulations.
Capgemini India is a unit of France-based Capgemini SE , an IT consulting and outsourcing firm, with more than 420,000 employees globally and operations in over 50 countries. It provides cloud, AI, engineering and digital services.
Reuters
