Toddlers at a workplace creche in India were allegedly locked inside washing machines and pushed into narrow water-filled pipes in a case that has sparked public outrage and prompted the police to file a criminal case.
The creche, located on the campus of Capgemini in Bengaluru, India’s technology hub, was temporarily closed after police named five daycare workers in the criminal case.
Police said parents were horrified by videos purportedly showing the children being locked inside washing machines to frighten them, forced into narrow pipes, stuffed into bathroom spaces, and hosed down with toilet jet sprays.
They said the videos also showed creche workers spraying water into the mouths of children when they would not stop crying.
The toddlers are the children of employees of Capgemini – a French technology company with a major presence in the country.
Police filed a criminal complaint on 29 June after a district child protection officer received the videos via WhatsApp.
Saidulu Adavath, deputy commissioner of police for the Whitefield division, confirmed that a case had been registered.
“We have initiated an investigation. Notices will be served to the individuals responsible and they will be summoned for interrogation,” he told the Indian Express.
The initial police complaint named five women employed by the creche.
Capgemini, which employs nearly 340,000 people globally, announced that it was temporarily shutting the facility.
“Capgemini’s foremost priority is the health, safety and wellbeing of its employees and their families,” the company said. “We are cooperating fully with the relevant authorities and assisting them in their efforts to establish the facts.”
The case has drawn widespread attention in India, where workplace creches at large corporate campuses are a common feature of employment packages, particularly in the technology sector.
Bengaluru is home to the India operations of many of the world’s largest technology companies and, therefore, boasts one of the highest concentrations of such facilities in the country.
