A three-year-old boy at a private playschool in northeast Delhi was allegedly tied to a chair for hours, beaten, kicked, pulled by the ears and sexually assaulted. CCTV footage from the classroom captured the physical abuse. The child’s father approached the police after noticing changes in his behaviour, swelling in both ear canals and other injuries. A medico-legal examination confirmed the physical harm.
According to the complaint, the footage from 16 to 18 August showed the boy restrained with what appeared to be a belt or apron while other children remained present in the same room. He was slapped, his ears were pulled repeatedly, and the chair was kicked so that he fell. On one occasion he remained tied for roughly three hours. Food was taken away from him before he could eat. The parents first noticed the child refusing to go to school and having difficulty using the washroom. An ENT specialist later found severe swelling in both eardrums and told them the injuries were consistent with beating.
The family obtained the CCTV recordings only after paying the school ₹1,500. Once they saw the images they registered a formal complaint. Police registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Juvenile Justice Act against the caretaker, a teacher, the principal and the director. The caretaker has been arrested. The teacher was served notice to join the investigation and has been suspended; teams are searching for her. The Delhi government ordered the playschool sealed.
Parents send a three-year-old to school believing the child will be safe, will learn letters and rhymes, and will be looked after by adults entrusted with that responsibility. The child depends entirely on the teacher and caretaker. In this classroom that trust was broken in full view of other children and under the gaze of cameras that the school itself controlled. The boy still has difficulty hearing. The trauma continues.
The adults responsible for a toddler’s daily care chose restraint, blows, humiliation and sexual assault instead of care. The school administration initially resisted sharing the footage and then charged money for it. Only after the parents persisted and the police registered a case did formal action begin. The sealing of the premises and the arrest of one staff member came after the harm had already been done and recorded.
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A three-year-old cannot defend himself, cannot speak clearly about what is happening, and cannot leave. The adults in that room held complete power. They used it to injure, frighten and sexually assault a child who should have been learning the alphabet. The law has now been invoked. The footage exists. The injuries are documented. What remains is whether the full set of adults who allowed or participated in the abuse will face consequences equal to the breach of trust they committed against a child too young to protect himself.
