A Delhi playschool attendant was arrested over alleged abuse of a three-year-old.
CCTV allegedly showed the child tied to a chair, kicked and struck.
Police named the director, principal, teacher and attendant in the case.
Delhi Police arrested a 35-year-old playschool attendant for allegedly tying a three-year-old boy to a chair and physically assaulting him inside a school in Maujpur earlier this month.
The attendant was taken into custody after the child’s father filed a complaint on Friday. Police have named four school staff members in the case — the director, principal, a teacher and the attendant, Hindustan Times reported.
According to police, the family first became suspicious after noticing a sudden change in the child’s behaviour along with visible injuries.
“The toddler had been scared of visiting the washroom for several days, remained agitated, and cried uncontrollably through the night. He also had some bruises on his face and arms,” an officer said.
Concerned by the child’s condition, his parents took him to an ENT specialist. During the examination, the doctor reportedly found severe swelling in both ear canals and suspected that the boy may have been physically assaulted.
The boy’s father, who is an advocate, then approached the playschool and sought access to CCTV recordings from the premises.
Police said the school initially delayed sharing the footage, citing technical problems.
“When the father, an advocate, approached the school administration requesting CCTV footage, the staff initially cited technical glitches and deferred his request. Upon returning the following day, school officials allegedly demanded ₹1,500 to show the footage. After paying the amount, the family viewed the recordings, which captured acts of physical violence,” the officer said.
According to an officer, the CCTV footage allegedly showed the child being pulled by his ears, restrained to a chair for long periods, kicked and struck repeatedly.
After watching the recordings, the family approached police on Friday.
A senior police officer associated with the investigation said a police team subsequently reached the school and seized the CCTV digital video recorder as part of the probe. An FIR was registered soon afterwards.
Police said that some members of the school staff attempted to fault the child’s behaviour while explaining the treatment meted out to him, Hindustan Times reported.
The boy was taken to GTB Hospital for a detailed medical examination.
“There were abrasions on his face and arms. It’s mentioned in his medical examination documents,” an officer said.
Police have registered the case under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, the Juvenile Justice Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
“The teacher has been asked to join the probe and the role of the playschool’s director and principal is being investigated,” the officer said.
The attendant has been arrested, while further investigation into the conduct of the remaining school officials is underway.
