3-year-old assaulted at playschool in NE Delhi’s Maujpur

A three-year-old boy was allegedly tied to a chair for hours and also subjected to severe physical abuse over several days at a playschool in northeast Delhi’s Maujpur that has international branches, police said on Sunday

A three-year-old boy was allegedly tied to a chair for hours and also subjected to severe physical abuse over several days at a playschool in northeast Delhi’s Maujpur that has international branches, police said on Sunday. An attendant has been arrested while a teacher, the school principal, and director have been booked in connection with the case.

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The incident first came to light earlier this month after the child’s parents noticed behavioural changes as well as bruises on his body. They took him to the doctor who said the 3-year-old appeared to show signs of physical assault, including swelling in both ear canals. They then approached the school for CCTV footage from the classroom which revealed the abuse. His parents have also alleged that he may have been sexually harassed and had become averse to being physically touched.

After a complaint by his father, a 33-year-old advocate, police visited the school on Friday, seized the CCTV recorder, and registered an FIR under sections of 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 126(2) (wrongful restraint) and 3(5) (common intention) as well as under sections 12 (punishment for sexual harassment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and 75 (punishment for cruelty to child) and 82 (corporal punishment) Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act was registered on Friday, said a senior police officer.

The playschool, which, according to its official website, has several branches in Delhi and across India and also runs preschool, day-care and activity centres in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The administration could not be reached for a comment.

In the days leading up to the discovery of the incident, “the toddler had been scared of visiting the washroom for several days, remained agitated, and cried uncontrollably through the night, said an officer. Citing a medical examination report, he added, “The child also had some bruises on his face and arms.”

Following the doctor’s visit, “when the father approached the school administration requesting CCTV footage on August 25, the staff initially cited technical glitches and deferred his request. The following day, school officials allegedly demanded ₹1,500 to show the footage. After they paid, they were able to see the recordings, which captured acts of physical violence,” the officer said.

In the footage obtained for three days — August 16, 17 and 18, the toddler is seen being pulled by his ears, tied to a chair for hours, kicked, and repeatedly struck by his teacher and the attendant, an officer and the father said.

“On August 18, when he returned from the school, he indicated that he had pain in his ears. He had also vomited. We took him to an ENT specialist who asked us if we were hitting him because there was damage to his ear lobes like he had been beaten up. We were shocked,” the father told HT. The parents later learnt from the footage that, on that day, the three-year-old had been tied to a chair from around 9:45am to 12:30pm.

“The day before that, he was taken to the side and slapped across his face and again tied to the chair. On August 16 as well, he was beaten up,” the father told HT.

HT has seen videos where teacher and the attendant are allegedly tying the child to the chair using an apron but could not independently verify them.

Police said the staff members attempted to blame the child and faulted his behaviour to justify the physical abuse.

The father said that when he confronted school management, they accused the toddler of hitting other children and throwing chairs around. “My son is undergoing speech therapy. The school had complained about his behaviour three months ago and I took him back home. Now I know that he may have thrown the chair because he was being tied to one,” he said.

The father further said, “We suspect that he was also touched inappropriately because he is so scared.”

The child has been going to this school for a year and a half, but has been irritable and scared of going to school since the beginning of August. The family said that they will take the boy for therapy to help him overcome this experience.

The child was shifted to GTB Hospital for a comprehensive medical examination. “There were abrasions on his face and arms. It’s mentioned in his medical examination documents,” the officer said.