Parents pay Rs 1,500 for CCTV, discover 3-year-old tied to chair, beaten at playschool

Dubai: A three-year-old boy is seen sitting in a small yellow plastic chair as a woman pushes him across the tiled floor with her legs. Once she has moved him into a corner, she begins slapping him hard, Indian media reports said.

The disturbing CCTV footage from a playschool in northeast Delhi’s Maujpur area has triggered a police investigation into allegations that the toddler was repeatedly assaulted and even tied to a chair for hours.

Delhi Police have registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and named four people as accused — the school’s director Sunita Bansal, principal Neelam and teachers Simran and Pooja. A caretaker has been arrested, police said.

The alleged abuse came to light not at the school, but at home, when the three-year-old complained to his parents of pain in his ear.

His parents said they also noticed bruises on his face and arms and took him to a doctor. According to the family, the doctor found that both his eardrums were swollen and told them the injuries appeared consistent with physical assault.

Alarmed, the parents approached the playschool and asked whether their son had been mistreated. The child’s father alleged that the school administration initially denied that any assault had taken place.

The parents then demanded access to CCTV footage from the classroom.

But the father alleged that the school asked them to pay Rs 1,500 before providing the login credentials needed to view the footage. The family said access was given only after they made the payment.

The child’s mother then went through recordings from August 16, 17 and 18.

What the family says they saw was deeply disturbing.

According to the parents, the footage showed their son being physically mistreated by a teacher and a caretaker. In some of the footage, they alleged, the toddler was tied to a chair with an apron.

“He was tied up with an apron for three hours and subjected to continuous beatings,” the boy’s father told NDTV.

One video shows the child in a yellow plastic chair being pushed across the floor before a woman appears to repeatedly slap him after moving him into a corner.

The CCTV footage has now become a key part of the allegations being investigated by police.

The case has also raised questions over how the playschool responded when the parents first reported their concerns and why, according to the family, they were required to pay to obtain access to footage that ultimately led them to approach the authorities.