Two nannies working at a daycare centre on the campus of an IT firm in Bengaluru have been arrested for allegedly abusing toddlers after videos purportedly showing the incidents surfaced online, prompting a police investigation and strong condemnation from the Karnataka government.
Police arrested the two accused, identified as Manjula and Vijayalakshmi, after registering an FIR based on videos of the alleged abuse that went viral, police sources said.
The investigating officer said the two women were identified during the video verification process, following which they were arrested. They were later produced before a court, which remanded them to 14 days' judicial custody.
According to police, the purported videos showed caregivers threatening children aged between two and three years whenever they cried or caused disturbance.
The women allegedly put 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 quiet.
Capgemini, on whose campus the daycare centre operates, said the safety and well-being of employees and their families remained its top priority.
"We are cooperating fully with the relevant authorities and assisting them in their efforts to establish the facts," the company said in a statement.
Reacting to the incident and the arrests, Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge said the state had zero tolerance for such incidents, adding that the episode had hurt not only the company's reputation but also the image of Bengaluru.
"We have already sought clarification from the company through our department," the minister told reporters.
He said large multinational companies are expected to adhere to global standards while operating daycare facilities.
"They are expected to function according to those policies—how creches should be run, how nurseries should be managed, and how daycare centres should operate," Priyank said.
The minister said the company appeared to have overlooked its own standard operating procedures.
"They should have carried out proper verification and different kinds of background checks. I believe that was not done," he said.
Priyank said he was awaiting the company's written explanation and stressed that no organisation should allow such incidents to occur.
Matters involving toddlers, he added, must be handled with the highest degree of responsibility.
"What has happened is truly a matter that makes one hang one's head in shame," he said.
The minister also noted that the Department of Women and Child Welfare has laid down guidelines governing the operation and management of daycare centres.
