2 min readKolkataMar 3, 2026 05:04 AM IST
An incident of alleged child abuse has surfaced from a preschool in Kolkata where a three-and-a-half-year-old student was locked inside a cupboard by two teachers as a form of “punishment”, leading to a police complaint, probe by the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR), and public outrage. However, no FIR has been registered yet.
According to the toddler’s family, the incident took place at a preschool in Salt Lake Sector 1 on February 20. In a police complaint lodged on February 27, they alleged that CCTV footage showed a teacher dragging the nursery student into an empty classroom and pushing her into a cupboard. Another teacher entering the room was seen drinking water instead of intervening. She eventually assisted her colleague in locking the girl inside the cupboard and blocking the opening with a heavy table to prevent her from coming out, her family stated in their complaint.
The child’s mother said that while the school had previously claimed the child was “uncooperative”, her daughter has remained active and engaged in extracurricular activities outside the school environment, suggesting her reluctance was a reaction to the school’s atmosphere. She also said that a medical report has shown the child is suffering from “acute claustrophobia triggered by the confinement in a dark, cramped space; complete withdrawal from the academic environment and a fear of confronting the accused staff”.
In the formal complaint, her father also slammed the school’s management for their perceived apathy.
“This act of trapping a toddler is not only a violation of basic human rights but also a life-threatening issue that could have led to suffocation,” the complaint stated.
The family has also alleged that the school hasn’t taken any disciplinary action against the accused teachers.
The school hasn’t issued any statement on the matter yet.
