Maharashtra: Daycare centre owners, staff booked for assaulting kids in Dombivli

Mandar Ogale’s daughter being held upside down, (right) Video grab of kids being assaulted with a stick

The Dombivli police have registered a case against three people from a daycare centre for assaulting a 3-year-old girl. The child's father and complainant in the case, Mandar Vishwanath Ogale, 37, said, "Since August 2021, we have been sending my daughter to ‘Happy Kids Day Care' located at Phadke Road in Dombivli East. I have been paying R8,500 every month for them to care for her from 7 am to 8 pm."

The police said Mandar works as the driver of a state government vehicle while his wife Anuja works with a private firm in Powai. They decided to send their child to the daycare centre as both were employed full-time. On March 18, Mandar received a call from social worker Kavita Gavand informing him that staff at the daycare centre had been assaulting the kids enrolled there.

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"I met Gavand and saw a video on her mobile phone that showed Radha Mayureshar Nakhare who works at the centre physically assaulting my child. The video showed her traumatising my child by holding her legs and lifting her in the air… assaulting her with a stick and locking her in the room," Mandar said.

Crying child left unattended

According to Mandar, when he inquired how the video got leaked, he was told that Sadana Samant - a woman who got employed at the daycare centre recently - recorded the video and sent it to Gavand after she found out about the kids being assaulted. "She got upset over the kids being assaulted and got in touch with Gavand to take action," he said in his statement to the police.

Samant said she started working at the centre on March 1 and discovered that children were being harassed. "On my first day, I saw kids being assaulted and was shocked. I opposed this but they ignored me. I was also told to complain to whomever I wanted to, as the parents wouldn't believe me. I created the video so some action is taken and the kids are saved from this daily harassment," Samant said, adding that other caretakers who worked there in the past have also witnessed this and are willing to testify.

The daycare centre should be shut down as children are being tortured. Anuja, the mother of the 3-year-old who was assaulted, said they approached the police who were initially not ready to file a complaint. "We then approached senior officers after which action was initiated and a case was registered. We want strict action against the owner and caretakers. How can parents send their kids to such a place? It should be shut down," she said.

After the issue was raised, a huge crowd gathered at the centre and the police station demanding action. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Juvenile Justice Act against the daycare centre owners Ganesh Prabhune, his wife Aarti, and caretaker Radha Mayureshar Nakhare who was seen assaulting the child in the video. "We are investigating the matter," said an officer from Dombivli police station.

3 yrs
Age of complainant's child who was assaulted