LUCKNOW: A 15-month-old girl was slapped, bitten, thrown to the ground, and beaten with a plastic bat by a nanny at a daycare centre in Greater Noida. The incident was caught on CCTV, prompting police action against the daycare operator and the assistant.
As per sources, the CCTV footage, lasting approximately 10 minutes and 30 seconds, showed the minor assistant forcibly shoving a toy into the girl’s mouth, slamming her on the ground twice while she was standing, and repeatedly striking her back and chest. At one point, the child’s head is slammed against a wall, and the assistant even bites her thigh.
Throughout the ordeal, the baby cries out in distress. The child, Vedanshi Patel, is a resident of the society where the daycare, Blippy Daycare, operates. Her mother, Monika Devi, regularly sends her daughter to the daycare for two hours. On August 4, after picking up Vedanshi, Monika noticed her crying excessively. While changing her clothes, she saw bite marks on both of Vedanshi’s thighs.
A doctor later confirmed these marks were caused by tooth bites. When Monika complained to the daycare operator, Charu, and the assistant, both responded with abusive language and threats.
Initially, the operator refused to show the CCTV footage, but later did so under pressure. The footage revealed the assistant’s repeated cruelty. Meanwhile, police authorities of Sector-142 conducted a medical examination of the child and took the minor assistant into custody.
Authorities are also investigating if the daycare was operating with a valid licence. Local sources claimed that the daycare had been operating from a rented flat, charging Rs 3,500 per month for a child.
The assistant’s mental condition was reportedly unstable as complaints over her behaviour had been there earlier as well. According to Vinod Kumar Mishra, investigating officer and Kotwali in-charge, the daycare operator showed gross negligence by entrusting the care of about 12 young children to a minor.
A case was registered against the operator and assistant under relevant sections, including voluntarily causing hurt, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, and criminal intimidation, of the Baharat Nyay Samhita (BNS).
Deputy Commissioner of Police Shaktimohan Awasthi confirmed that the daycare operator was being grilled with the assistant in police custody. The Gautam Buddh Nagar Police Commissionerate has written to the Child Welfare Committee and the Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA), urging strict adherence to rules to prevent such incidents. The letter also demands mandatory installation of CCTV cameras in all daycare centres in the district.