Following disturbing reports and viral videos of alleged toddler abuse, Capgemini has taken swift action by temporarily closing its Bengaluru daycare and initiating a comprehensive review of all its childcare providers across India.
Key Points
- Capgemini has temporarily closed its Bengaluru on-campus daycare facility due to alleged toddler abuse.
- The IT firm is reassessing all its daycare providers across India following the incident.
- Two nannies have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody in connection with the alleged abuse.
- Viral videos purportedly showed caregivers mistreating toddlers, leading to police action.
- Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge condemned the incident, citing its negative impact on 'Brand Bengaluru'.
After reports of alleged abuse of toddlers at its on-campus daycare in Bengaluru, Capgemini said it has temporarily shut down the facility, taken "concrete actions" in the last two days and is reassessing all its daycare providers across India.
In a detailed note that follows viral heart-wrenching videos purportedly showing caregivers torturing children, the IT firm stated that the situation is being treated with the utmost seriousness.
"The situation reported at the daycare facility in Bengaluru, operated by the external provider Little Scholars, is being treated with the utmost seriousness. While the authorities conduct their investigation, we have taken a number of concrete actions in the last 48 hrs, including the immediate temporary closure of this daycare facility in Bengaluru pending review. We are reassessing all of our daycare providers across all of our facilities in India," the company said.
Capgemini's Response and Internal Review
The company noted that its daycare providers are subject to "rigorous due diligence and compliance checks". Capgemini said it is providing support to affected families, including access to a helpline facility, dedicated counselling through the company's Employee Assistance Program, and work-from-home options.
Police Action and Allegations of Abuse
The statement comes after Bengaluru police arrested two nannies, Manjula and Vijayalakshmi, on Friday for the alleged abuse of toddlers at the Brookefield campus facility.
An FIR was initially registered against five women employees following a complaint from the Child Protection Officer after videos of the alleged abuse surfaced on the internet. The arrested individuals have been remanded to 14 days in judicial custody.
According to the police, the purported videos showed caregivers threatening toddlers, aged between two and three years, when they cried or caused a disturbance.
The complaint alleged that the women 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 keeping quiet.
Government Reaction and 'Brand Bengaluru' Impact
Reacting to the incident, Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge said the state has zero tolerance for such acts, noting that it negatively impacts 'Brand Bengaluru'. He stated that large companies have global standard operating procedures for running creches, which appear to have been overlooked, adding that proper verification and background checks were seemingly not conducted by the firm.
