20-month-old allegedly beaten, kept hungry for 4 hours at Gurugram day care centre; case filed

In their police complaint, the parents state that the footage shows a female teacher beating their son and forcing him to sleep on the floor of the corridor leading to the toilet without a cot or mattress.

A 20-month-old boy was allegedly beaten by his teacher and kept hungry for over four hours at a day care centre in Sector 49 last Friday. The toddler’s parents, who lodged a police complaint Friday and on the basis of which a case was registered Tuesday, allege that their son’s face was red and swollen when they got him home Friday evening. The allegations have been refuted by the day care.

The boy’s father said he demanded CCTV footage of the past month, but the day care centre refused to provide it. (HT File / Representative Photo)

According to the complaint, the parents noticed their son’s face was red and swollen when they reached home after picking him up at 4.30pm. They then returned to the day care seeking an explanation, police said.

“We returned to the day care around 6.30pm and asked the staff to show us CCTV footage. In the footage, we saw a teacher slapping my son. He was forced to sleep on the floor in the corridor leading to the toilet,” stated the father in his complaint.

The boy’s father said he demanded CCTV footage of the past month, but the centre refused to provide it. He has also alleged that teacher had falsely noted in the child’s daily diary that he had consumed lunch, when he was not even offered food and that the CCTV footage shows it. “He just had an apple and milk,” the father stated.

On the basis of the complaint, the police have registered a case against the day care centre’s management under IPC Section 323 and section 75 of Juvenile Justice Act at Sector 50 police station on Tuesday. The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) has taken cognizance of the incident.

“We have questioned the staff and director of the day care. We did not find any sign of assault on the boy’s body. We have recorded the parents statement as well,” additional SHO Naresh Yadav said, adding that a copy of CCTV footage was shared with police.

The day care centre’s director has refuted the allegations and said that it was a minor issue.

“The boy was not regular, which is against the rules. On the day of the alleged incident, he reached school after lunch, which is served till 12.20pm. He slept and after waking up, we was offered milk and apple. A teacher patted him on the back when he was approaching another boy who was asleep. There was no slapping,” director of the day care said, adding that they have given the CCTV footage to police and are cooperating in investigation.

CWC chairperson Shankuntala Dhull said, “We have sent a notice to the day care director and asked her to come on December 21 with CCTV footage.”