At Capgemini creche, toddlers dumped in washing machines: How safe are India's daycare centres?

Working women often rely on their company crèches to take care of their children. However, every parent’s nightmare came to life at Capgemini’s Bengaluru office after abuse of tiny toddlers became known.

An FIR has been registered with the police after systematic abuse of children was captured on camera. The videos from the day-care centre at Capgemini Technology Services India Limited’s Bengaluru office allegedly showed the caretakers placing toddlers inside a washing machine, spraying water into their mouths using a toilet jet spray, and locking them into washrooms to stop them from crying.

While the police have registered a complaint against five of the nannies at the facility, and Capgemini has temporarily shut down the crèche, the entire episode has people asking — who’s responsible, and are there laws that govern such facilities?

What happened to children at Capgemini’s day-care facility?

Disturbing visuals of nannies abusing children inside the French MNC Capgemini’s Bengaluru campus have gone viral on social media, causing much outrage and uproar.

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On June 29, the police filed an FIR in the matter with five of the nannies at the facility being named: Manjula, Vijayalakshmi, Bhavani, Sindhu, and Bindu.

The FIR comes after Tilakesh Kumar, a legal-cum-probation officer, received videos of the abuse and filed a complaint.

A Capgemini logo is seen at the company's office in Nantes, France. The Bengaluru office has come under fire after visuals show the nannies at the creche abusing the children. File image/Reuters

Kumar said that the videos showed that the nannies, instead of caring for the children, were physically and emotionally abusing them. The complaint states that the nannies forced the minors to sit inside the drum of a front-loading washing machine. Additionally, some of them were forced onto a Western-style toilet, with the women spraying water into their mouths using a jet shower. There were also instances when the children were locked inside a bathroom to stop them from crying.

“The toddlers belonged to professionals working at the campus who leave their children at the facility while on duty. Parents and officials were horrified to see the manner in which the care staff was handling these toddlers,” a police officer told the Indian Express.

(Please note the video has extremely disturbing visuals. Viewer discretion is advised)

A News18 report states that the videos were taken by a staffer at the daycare whose friend had been dismissed from the same centre a month ago.

Additionally, Kumar told NDTV that the abuse was going on for a long period of time. “Earlier, someone informed the supervisor, but then said no action was taken.” The previous whistleblower, Kumar added, was fired after reporting the abuse.

After the matter became public knowledge, Capgemini announced a temporary closure of the day-care centre. In a statement, the company said, “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. As a precautionary measure, we are temporarily closing the Bengaluru on-campus daycare facility.”

Are there laws in India to govern corporate creches?

In India, the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 states that companies having more than 50 employees should have a childcare facility, either separately or along with common facilities within a prescribed distance.

The law also mandates that mothers are entitled to visit the crèche four times during the day, including rest intervals.

The law also notes that these daycare facilities have to be set up either by the company itself or through a third-party operator, and the cost of this has to be borne by the employer.

According to Indian law, all offices with more than 50 employees are expected to have a creche. However, the reality is quite different. Representational image/AI-generated

However, there are huge gaps between the law and its implementation. According to one IndiaSpend report, compliance with the mandatory creche clause is limited to larger, multinational companies.

It has been found that a few states have officially announced the rule — Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, and Kerala — and that’s why companies have avoided compliance. “If state governments do not notify (officially announce) the rules, the process [to enforce the amendment] cannot start,” Pallavi Pareek, founder and CEO of Ungender, a consultancy that helps companies build inclusive workplaces, told IndiaSpend. “In the absence of state rules and notifications, there is no monitoring and this is why companies get away [without complying]. There is no incentive or penalty [on companies to comply]. State guidelines are therefore important.”

There’s also the matter that many companies choose to outsource these facilities to daycare providers. While employers remain responsible for complying with the law, day-to-day operations are often handled by third-party vendors, reports News18. And that’s where the problem arises, as there’s a problem of accountability.

It’s also important to note that commercial and private creches are not governed by any specific law. What this means is that there’s no set standards on infrastructure, qualifications for staff and safety protocols. In fact, in some cities, private daycare centres operate without any dedicated licensing framework specific to childcare.

Have there been previous cases of abuse at daycare centres?

While the abuse at the Capgemini creche is horrifying, this isn’t the first time that such a matter has arisen, indicating that India needs stricter laws to protect our children.

Last August, a woman attendant at the daycare in Paras Tierea residential complex in Noida's Sector 137 was detained after the parents of a 15-month-old baby girl accused her of assaulting the infant. CCTV footage from the daycare showed the attendant hitting the little one on the face and dropping her to the ground, intentionally. Also, the child had bite marks on her thighs, which the parents alleged was the job of the attendant.

In March 2024, Dombivli police in Maharashtra registered a case after a video reportedly showed a daycare staffer assaulting a three-year-old girl. And in 2016, a 10-month-old girl was allegedly beaten and kicked at a Navi Mumbai creche. Later, the police arrested the caretaker and the owner.

With inputs from agencies