Nightmare at day care: Maid kicks and fractures 9-month-old baby's head

CCTV grabs show how the maid flung the baby on the ground and also hit and kicked herA young couple in Kharghar lived through every parentrsquos worst nightmare after they placed their 9monthold daughter in day care centre trusting that she would be well looked after But after just one day they were horrified to see their daughter with bruises all over her face and body after being brutally manhandled by the maidThe video may be disturbing to some viewers Viewer discretion is advised Careful decisionWhile Rajat Sinha 31 is an engineer his wife Ruchita 29 is an HR professional After her maternity break Ruchita was finally ready to start working again and the couple decided to place their baby daughter Ritisha in a day care centre The couple lives in Sector 10 Kharghar and they zeroed in Purva Nursery and day care centre since it was in the vicinity9monthold Ritisha came home with bruises on her face and all over her bodyThe nursery charges were Rs 5000 per month and the couple decided to place 9monthold Ritisha there on a trial basis to see if she could settle in On November 21 Ritisha was dropped off at the centre at 830 am They had double checked for any possible issuesldquoWe made all required enquiries spoke to parents of other kids at the centre We also ensured that the centre has a CCTV camera so we could check on our child Since it was the first day my wife was calling at the centre at almost every hour to check if everything was okay My motherinlaw also made a few rounds to the centre Both were repeatedly told that Ritisha was finerdquo recalled RajatAlarm bellsBut when her mother arrived to pick her up at 7 pm she couldnrsquot believe her eyes when she saw the bruises on her face ldquoRitisha was fast asleep but there was a bruise under her eye When my wife asked about it the centre owner said she had hit herself while playing Initially we thought that Ritisha may have been stressed because it was her first day and we believed the caretaker But at home she was crying continuously and refused to eat anythingrdquo recalled RajatldquoAt night when we changed her clothes we were shocked to see more bruises on her back and behind her ear as well We took her to doctor the next day and were informed that our daughter got those marks because she had been beaten uprdquo he addedThey went to the day care centre and demand to see the CCTV footage but the owner told them to file a police complaint first The couple immediately went to the Kharghar police station and the cops checked the CCTV footage the next dayHorror showldquoWe could not believe our eyes while watching the CCTV footagerdquo said Ruchita who burst into tears Her husband continued ldquoIt was inhuman The maid was manhandling my daughter mdash hitting her with toys and throwing her on the mat We just saw what she did to my baby who knows how she is treating the other kids at the centrerdquo Based on the CCTV footage an FIR was filed in the wee hours yesterday and the police arrested both the maid Afsana Shaikh and the centrersquos owner Priyanka Nikam under Sections 325 voluntarily causing grievous hurt 34 common intention of the IPC along with Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection of Children ActCop speakldquoThe owner has been released on bail while the maid remains in magisterial custody The owner has stated that the incident happened while she was out for lunch The maid is actually a cleaner at the centre but was looking after the children that day because the regular maids were on leave We will now scrutinise CCTV footage of the entire day to see if any other child was harmedrdquo said the investigating officer API Sunil Thopate from Kharghar policeWhen midday contacted the centre owner Nikam her phone was answered by a woman claiming to be a neighbour saying the owner was at the police stationA little later however Nikamrsquos husband Praveen took over and said ldquoWe are in court right now and will get back to you later with our statementrdquo But when the reporter tried to call them after court hours the number had been switched offHead injuryThe Sinhas were even more distressed when baby Rishita became feverish and started vomiting ldquoWe took her back to the doctor and a CT scan revealed that she has a small fracture at the back of her skull which led to internal bleeding She is now under observation for two days at the Fortis Hospital in Vashirdquo said her father RajatSenior paediatric consultant Dr Ashok Gawdi who is treating the child told midday ldquoWhen the patient was first brought to me I suspected that there had been a physical assault so I categorically informed parents not to send her to the day care centre and to inquire into the matter Though the child is medically stable now she is extremely scaredrdquo