Bengaluru Police makes first arrest in Capgemini daycare toddler abuse case
Viral videos showed toddlers being forced into a washing machine drum, sprayed with water, and locked in bathrooms at Capgemini's on-campus daycare centre in Bengaluru, triggering massive outrage and police action.
Bengaluru Police has made the first arrest in the abuse of toddlers at a daycare facility inside a corporate campus in the city, as the case widened with parallel probes by child rights authorities and mounting scrutiny over safety lapses, officials said on Friday.
The arrested woman, Vijayalaxmi, was employed at Capgemini's daycare centre and has been identified as the same person seen in a video that triggered public outrage. Police said she has been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Juvenile Justice Act.
"We have arrested a woman identified as Vijayalakshmi in connection with the torture of an infant at a day care centre. Vijayalakshmi has been named Accused No. 2 in the FIR registered in the case," Commissioner of Police for Bengaluru City, Seemanth Kumar Singh said.
"The investigating officer said Vijayalakshmi was identified during video verification, following which she was taken into custody. She will be produced before the court soon, and police will seek her custody for further interrogation," he added.
Officials also said three others were issued notices to appear before investigators but did not turn up for questioning earlier.
The case erupted after disturbing videos surfaced online showing toddlers, some barely two years old, being subjected to abusive treatment inside the daycare operating on the Bengaluru campus of Capgemini.
The footage, which quickly went viral, showed children being forced into the drum of a front-loading washing machine, sprayed with water in the mouth using a jet spray, and locked inside bathrooms as punishment for crying.
Following the outrage, police registered an FIR against five women linked to the facility and began examining whether the acts were isolated incidents or part of a repeated pattern of abuse.
Capgemini, meanwhile, has temporarily shut its on-campus daycare facility in Bengaluru. In its statement, the company said the health, safety and wellbeing of employees and their families remained its top priority, adding that it was fully cooperating with authorities.
"Capgemini's foremost priority is the health, safety and wellbeing of its employees and their families. We are cooperating fully with the relevant authorities and assisting them in their efforts to establish the facts. As a precautionary measure, we are temporarily closing the Bengaluru on-campus daycare facility," the company said.
The matter also reached the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights after a petition sought its intervention. The commission is expected to seek a detailed report from authorities and independently review the allegations.
Bengaluru Police has made the first arrest in the abuse of toddlers at a daycare facility inside a corporate campus in the city, as the case widened with parallel probes by child rights authorities and mounting scrutiny over safety lapses, officials said on Friday.
The arrested woman, Vijayalaxmi, was employed at Capgemini's daycare centre and has been identified as the same person seen in a video that triggered public outrage. Police said she has been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Juvenile Justice Act.
"We have arrested a woman identified as Vijayalakshmi in connection with the torture of an infant at a day care centre. Vijayalakshmi has been named Accused No. 2 in the FIR registered in the case," Commissioner of Police for Bengaluru City, Seemanth Kumar Singh said.
"The investigating officer said Vijayalakshmi was identified during video verification, following which she was taken into custody. She will be produced before the court soon, and police will seek her custody for further interrogation," he added.
Officials also said three others were issued notices to appear before investigators but did not turn up for questioning earlier.
The case erupted after disturbing videos surfaced online showing toddlers, some barely two years old, being subjected to abusive treatment inside the daycare operating on the Bengaluru campus of Capgemini.
The footage, which quickly went viral, showed children being forced into the drum of a front-loading washing machine, sprayed with water in the mouth using a jet spray, and locked inside bathrooms as punishment for crying.
Following the outrage, police registered an FIR against five women linked to the facility and began examining whether the acts were isolated incidents or part of a repeated pattern of abuse.
Capgemini, meanwhile, has temporarily shut its on-campus daycare facility in Bengaluru. In its statement, the company said the health, safety and wellbeing of employees and their families remained its top priority, adding that it was fully cooperating with authorities.
"Capgemini's foremost priority is the health, safety and wellbeing of its employees and their families. We are cooperating fully with the relevant authorities and assisting them in their efforts to establish the facts. As a precautionary measure, we are temporarily closing the Bengaluru on-campus daycare facility," the company said.
The matter also reached the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights after a petition sought its intervention. The commission is expected to seek a detailed report from authorities and independently review the allegations.
