The superintendent of a state-run childcare institution in Agra has been suspended following a video that went viral on social media, which showed her physically assaulting a minor girl. The incident purportedly took place on 4 September, where the superintendent, identified as Poonam Pal, was seen beating a girl lying on a bed.
The circulation of the video prompted immediate action from the district magistrate Bhanu Chandra Goswami, who tasked District Probation Officer (DPO) Ajay Pal Singh with leading an investigation into the matter. Following the investigation, which corroborated the abuse through CCTV footage and witness statements from other children and staff present at the time, the superintendent was suspended. Stringent disciplinary action has been ordered, including the registration of an FIR against Pal on the directives of Women and Child Development Minister Beni Rani Maurya. A case has since been registered.
The distressing video clip distinctly shows Pal entering a room abruptly and hitting the child lying on a bed with a slipper repeatedly. DPO Singh, who inspected the government child home alongside a city magistrate, confirmed that the superintendent was responsible for the violent act, acknowledging it as a clear breach of rules as well as “gross misconduct”.
During the investigation, it was revealed that the child would often playfully lock herself inside a box built into the bed. Despite having been warned several times by the superintendent, the child continued to engage in this act. On the day of the incident, the child not only locked herself in but also had another child lock it from the outside to prevent others from finding her, which enraged Pal.
Following Pal’s suspension, clerk Shiv Kumar Sharma has been assigned as the acting superintendent of the state-run child home. Meanwhile, questions are also being raised about the Child Protection Committee, which was supposed to oversee the well-being of the children and the conduct of the employees at the orphanage. The failure of the committee to be aware of and prevent such incidents, despite being stationed at the facility, has put them under scrutiny, raising substantial questions about their efficacy and the larger system’s ability to safeguard the children in its care.