The child’s mother, Monica, a resident of Paras Tierea, filed a complaint at Sector 142 police station on Thursday. She identified the accused as Sonali, an attendant from Shahdara village, and Charu, the owner of the daycare “Blippi.” The toddler had been attending the daycare for two hours daily since May.
On Monday, Monica said her daughter appeared unusually distressed when she picked her up. At home, she noticed bite marks on the toddler’s thighs. “The doctor confirmed these were human bite marks,” she said.
CCTV footage shows assault
Monica said she then went to the daycare and demanded the CCTV footage. In the video, the attendant was seen slapping the child, throwing her to the ground, hitting her with a plastic bat, and biting her. “Despite my daughter’s frantic cries, Charu did not provide any care or comfort,” she said.
Attendant found to be a minor
Police later confirmed that the attendant is a 16-year-old girl who should have been in school. She had joined the facility only 10 days earlier without formal training. Her parents work as domestic helps in the same sector.
The daycare operated from a 3BHK flat in Paras Tierea. Monica and her husband Sandeep Kumar said they had checked the facility’s safety measures before enrolling their daughter on May 21, including the presence of five CCTV cameras. “Before sending our daughter, we had checked all safety measures at the daycare. The owner assured us during admission that it’s the daycare’s responsibility to keep every child safe,” Sandeep said.
Delay in providing CCTV footage
According to the parents, staff delayed sharing CCTV footage for four days, citing technical issues, until police intervened. The video showed the attendant punching the toddler, pushing her off a swing, dropping her on the floor, hitting her with a plastic bat, and inserting a pencil into her mouth. Sandeep claimed the daycare tried to cover up the incident to protect its image.
Owner’s statement
Charu, the daycare owner, said she had been running the facility since 2021 and had all required documents. She said she believed the attendant was 21 based on an identity card. “On the day of the incident, the girl was crying since her father left her at the daycare. I later came to know she had assaulted the child for no reason,” Charu said.
Police registered a case under sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), and 352 (intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of peace) of the BNS. Officials said the minor attendant admitted to the assault, claiming she was irritated because the child would not stop crying. A medical report confirmed multiple injury marks on the toddler.
City magistrate Vivek Bhadoriya said resident welfare associations should monitor commercial activities in gated societies. The Child Welfare Committee president said the case would be handed over to them and suggested adding sections under the Juvenile Justice Act.