BENGALURU: Police have booked five women employed at a daycare centre inside an IT company campus in Bengaluru after videos purportedly showing toddlers being abused surfaced, triggering an investigation into allegations of physical assault and cruelty.The alleged incidents took place at a childcare facility in Brookefield, where employees of the IT company leave their young children while they are at work, police said on Wednesday.The matter surfaced on Monday after videos purportedly showing the abuse were circulated on WhatsApp and reported to the Child Helpline, prompting police action.According to police, the footage allegedly shows children crying while being subjected to physical abuse and intimidation by the caregivers.Investigators said the videos purportedly show the women threatening toddlers aged between two and three years whenever they cried or created a disturbance.According to the complaint, the caregivers allegedly placed children inside a front-loading washing machine, made them sit on a western-style toilet, sprayed water into their mouths using a toilet jet spray, locked them inside bathrooms and threatened them into remaining silent.Based on the complaint, police registered a case against the five women under relevant provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.“The accused women are being questioned, and we are also verifying the authenticity of the videos and trying to establish when the incidents occurred and whether more children were subjected to similar abuse,” he said.No arrests have been made so far, police said, adding that further investigation is underway.(With PTI agency)
