Maid arrested after app-cam footage shows her beating 10-month-old child in Bengal

In a chilling incident, a 50-year-old maid was arrested when live footage on an app-cam showed her beating the 10-month-old girl child in her care inside the house of a healthcare worker couple at East Midnapore district in West Bengal on Friday (October 1).

The father of the child, Debasish Das is a doctor at a state-run hospital, while the mother Nabamita Bhattacharya is the district manager of public health in East Midnapore district in West Bengal, said media reports.

According to Bhattacharya, the couple had been extremely busy because of the COVID-19 situation. However, on Thursday, when her husband had suddenly switched on the app-cam on from his office to check on his daughter live on the cam, he caught their domestic help beating her. “She held her by her leg and tossed her on the bed as the child cried and screamed,” said Bhattacharya who lodged a complaint with the Panskura police station, said a report in Hindustan Times.

The maid Kalpana Sen was arrested and booked under certain sections of the Indian Penal Code and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, including voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation.

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The police acted on the complaint received from the child’s mother in which she accused the maid of torturing the child, said media reports.

Bhattacharya alleged that a few days back she had spotted blisters on her daughter’s foot. But the maid had told her that some steaming-hot food had accidentally fallen on the child’s foot. Further, she told Hindustan Times that they did not have a CCTV installed at home. Instead, they had fixed an app-cam to be able to see real-time what their child was doing and hence they also did not have any past recordings.

It was by chance her husband had switched on the cam and caught the incident and started recording it to gather evidence. The mother felt that this was probably not the first time she had harmed the child. The maid however defended herself saying that she was just playing with the child.

The parents have been told to watch the child’s health for any adverse affects and also to consult a psychologist if she behaves abnormally.