The employee has been accused of several such incidents in the past.
A viral video from an adoption centre in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district shows the Programme Manager of the centre brutally assaulting two little girls, flinging them to the floor and then onto a bed. The adoption centre employee has been arrested and the services of the NGO for the specific centre have been suspended with immediate effect, the Kanker District Collector said.
A recommendation for the cancellation of the NGO's registration has also been made to the Director of the Women and Child Development Department, said Kanker District Collector Dr Priyanka Shukla. "All required measures are being taken to ensure the safety and well-being of the children at the adoption centre," she added.
The adoption centre is home to orphans under six years old. Sources from the Kanker police said the Programme Manager, Seema Dwivedi, has been involved in several such incidents before this, but no action was taken against her. They added that the adoption Centre has a CCTV camera, but Dwivedi would turn it off at night.
In the video, Dwivedi is seen hitting a little girl, holding her by the hair and then flinging her to the floor. As the girl screams and cries, Dwivedi lifts her up once more, throws her onto the bed and thrashes her again. Two employees of the centre are seen walking by, but neither of them intervene.
Dwivedi then orders another girl to come close to her, says something to the child and begins assaulting her. She then hurls her onto the bed and hits her repeatedly. The video ends with Dwivedi shouting at the crying children and then walking away.
Police sources said several employees had complained against Dwivedi in the past. Instead of action being taken against Dwivedi, however, eight employees who had opposed her behaviour were sacked.