Children at Indore orphanage told officials that the staff would torture them over minor mistakes.
About 21 children at an orphanage in Madhya Pradesh's Indore have alleged horrific abuse and torture by its staff, the police said.
The horror unraveled after a team of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) carried out a surprise inspection at the orphanage last week.
Police said the children told officials that the staff would torture them over minor mistakes. "The children told the team that they were hung upside down, branded with hot iron and photographed after being stripped,"officials said.
They were also made to inhale smoke from burning red chilies.
A First Information Report or FIR has been registered against five employees of the orphanage and investigation is on.
"A four-year-old child was locked in the bathroom and not given food for two-three days after he defecated in his pants," the FIR said.
Police said the orphanage - run by the Vatsalyapuram Jain Trust - had not been registered under the Juvenile Justice Act. The Trust also has orphanages in Bengaluru, Surat, Jodhpur and Kolkata.
"The case was filed based on a complaint filed by the CEC. The orphanage was immediately sealed and the children were shifted to government facilities," said Amrendra Singh, Additional Commissioner of Police, Indore.
"The allegations of the horrific abuse are being probed," Mr Singh said.
Police said the team has also submitted pictures of children's injuries along with its complaint.
The children at the facility are orphans from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh, it's learnt.