A woman attendant at a daycare in a Noida residential complex has been detained after the parents of a 15-month-old baby girl accused her of assaulting the infant. While the baby’s thighs have bite marks, disturbing CCTV footage from the daycare shows the attendant hitting the little one on the face and dropping her to the ground, intentionally.
The incident has been reported at the daycare in Paras Tierea residential complex in Noida’s Sector 137. The daycare, run by the residents’ association, is among numerous such units running in residential complexes in the Delhi NCR region. Parents leave their babies at these daycare units on their way to work and take them home when they return. This chilling incident has sparked panic in the complex.
The baby girl’s parents first noticed the marks on the baby’s thighs. They initially thought it was some allergic reaction. Then the teachers at the daycare also flagged the marks and the couple decided to visit a doctor. When they took her to a doctor, they were told the marks were caused by bites. Horrified, the parents then asked the residential complex authorities to show them the daycare’s CCTV footage. The footage shows the attendant hitting the infant on her face and also dropping her intentionally. The baby is seen crying in the footage.
The parents then filed a complaint at Sector 142 police station, and an FIR was registered. The parents have alleged that the daycare owner did not intervene during these incidents. They have also said that the owner and the attendant verbally abused and threatened them when they confronted them about the assault on their baby.
Police have said the baby has been medically examined and the attendant arrested. Further investigation into the matter is underway.Â
Sandeep, the baby’s father, told NDTV that they started sending their baby to the daycare on May 21. “On Monday (August 4), we saw the marks on my daughter’s thighs. Fearing an infection, we went to a doctor, who told us these were bite marks. Then we started investigating. We watched the CCTV footage and found out what happened to our daughter. Then we went to the police,” he said.
Sandeep said they left the baby at the daycare centre for two hours daily. “We were told that there were three teachers and they would handle the child. We never knew the baby would be with the attendant. The owner of the daycare used to tell us, ‘Your child is very happy’. We were paying Rs 2,500 for two hours,” he said. He said another family in the residential complex has informed them that their child, too, faced a similar horror at the daycare, and they will be filing a police complaint soon.
“I want action against the daycare owner and the attendant so that such an incident does not happen with another child. These were very tough days. I could not go to work. My wife could not sleep,” he said, narrating the traumatic experience.Â
Sandeep said the attendant who hit her child is a minor. “The authorities must ensure that they hire (mature) people who have the patience to take care of infants.”
Police are also investigating how the daycare, run by a woman named Charu, hired a minor for a sensitive job such as this. The cops are checking the daycare’s licence and may take action if they find irregularities.
