Bengaluru daycare horror: Capgemini shuts facility, says employees' welfare 'foremost priority'

Capgemini has temporarily shut its on-campus daycare facility in Bengaluru after videos showing toddlers being subjected to abuse sparked widespread outrage and triggered a police investigation. The footage allegedly showed children as young as two being punished in ways that have drawn legal action and scrutiny from child rights authorities.

In a statement, the company said the health, safety and wellbeing of its employees and their families remained its "foremost priority" and that it was cooperating with the 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.

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According to the complaint, the children had been left at the daycare by their working parents. The videos allegedly showed caregivers forcing toddlers to sit inside the drum of a front-loading washing machine, making them sit on a Western-style toilet, spraying water into their mouths with a bidet or jet spray, and locking them inside a bathroom to stop them from crying.

Police registered an FIR against five caregivers - Manjula, Vijayalakshmi, Bhavani, Sindhu and Bindu - under provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act after the videos circulated on WhatsApp and were brought to the attention of the District Child Protection Unit. Based on a complaint by child protection officer Tilakesh Kumar, HAL Police Station registered the case on 29 June.

Officials are investigating whether the incidents were isolated or part of repeated mistreatment. It is also unclear whether the daycare was directly operated by Capgemini or by an external service provider on its premises. The Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has also taken up the matter after a petition sought its intervention. The commission is expected to call for a report from the authorities and examine the allegations independently.