- The whistleblower who exposed alleged child abuse at Bengaluru daycare was arrested for leaking videos
- Videos showed children locked in bathrooms and placed inside a washing machine drum by caregivers
- Police arrested two daycare staff members and expect more arrests in the ongoing investigation
The whistleblower who recorded the alleged abuse of children by caregivers at the on-campus daycare inside the Capgemini technology park in Bengaluru has been arrested for circulating the horrifying clips.
According to the police, the woman who brought the alleged abuse to light "leaked the sensitive videos", and so an action is being taken against her.
This comes a day after she was taken to the police station for questioning. The whistleblower's family members and other activists had claimed that the police did not disclose the purpose of the questioning and expressed apprehensions over the intentions behind keeping her in custody for an extended period.
Horrifying videos of the abuse were shared by the whistleblower this week, showing children as young as two years old sitting inside the drum of a front-loading washing machine, with caregivers putting water from a jet spray on them. Another video showed the staff locking the children inside bathrooms.
Also Read: Bengaluru Daycare Horror: Rights Panel Issues Notice To Karnataka Government
The videos quickly went viral, prompting a police complaint and a separate complaint before the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
Shortly after this, the daycare fired the whistleblower who exposed the alleged abuse.
According to an official, around 50 to 60 children were enrolled at the centre - of whom 15 to 20 attended on a daily basis. Caregivers at the daycare had likely systematically abused young children dropped off at the centre by the global consulting firm's employees, a district child protection officer told NDTV.
The police have arrested two staff members, Vijayalakshmi and Manjula, in the case so far, as they found substantial evidence against the two.
More arrests are to follow, officials said.
Capgemini, in a statement, said that it is cooperating with the authorities in the case.
"Capgemini's foremost priority is the health, safety and well-being of its employees and their families. We are cooperating fully with the relevant authorities and assisting them in their efforts to establish the facts," it said.
The company has temporarily closed the on-campus daycare facility.
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