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Locked in washing machine: Indian authority probes alleged child abuse at daycare
Five caretakers are accused of reportedly locking crying toddlers in washing machines, forcing them into narrow water-filled drums, among others
- PUBLISHED: Fri 3 Jul 2026, 11:30 AM
India's National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has taken suo motu cognisance of alleged child abuse at a daycare centre operating inside an IT company's Bengaluru campus.
According to Indian media reports quoting the First Information Report, the accused caretakers have allegedly assaulted and intimidated children.
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The complaint alleges that staff at the daycare centre physically abused and intimidated children in their care, including by threatening crying children that they would be put in a washing machine and subjecting them to other forms of mistreatment.
Indian police have arrested one woman and are investigating four other suspects.
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In a letter dated July 2, 2026, addressed to Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner P S Kantharaju, India's NCPCR said that its team headed by Senior Technical Expert Paresh Shah will visit Bengaluru on Friday, July 3, for a fact-finding inquiry.
Centre temporarily shut
The daycare centre that was operating on the campus of an IT company called Capgemini in Brookefield, Whitefield, is now temporarily shut after these allegations.
The company has 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."
A case was registered at the HAL Police Station on June 29, based on a complaint filed by Tilakesh Kumar, Legal and Probation Officer with the District Child Protection Unit. The complaint was filed after videos of the alleged abuse surfaced online.
