‘Videos were released when we refused to pay’: Bengaluru daycare owner accuses former employees of extortion | india news

Last updated:15 July 2026, 10:06 IST

Kaur alleged that Mahendra first asked for Rs 20,000 to arrange legal aid after claiming that an FIR had been registered. She further claimed that later he asked for another Rs 2.5 lakh.

After a video of the Little Scholars daycare center operating inside the Capgemini campus sparked massive public outrage and led to a police investigation, the owner of the daycare company has broken his silence. In an exclusive interview with CNN-News18, Little Scholars owner Ramandeep Kaur claimed that the company was the victim of a “highly orchestrated criminal conspiracy, extortion and malicious defamation campaign” allegedly carried out by disgruntled former employees.

Kaur alleged that the controversy stemmed from a planned extortion attempt involving former daycare center manager Manjula, six other dismissed nannies including alleged whistleblower Sujatha, and a man named “Mahendra”, whom she claims has falsely impersonated a police officer.

According to Kaur, Little Scholars has handed over all evidence to the investigators, including call records, bank transaction details, videos and other digital evidence, and are fully cooperating with both the police investigation and Capgemini’s internal investigation.

Little Scholars accused of extortion conspiracy

talking to cnn-news18Kaur claimed that after disciplinary action was initiated against two employees following an alleged altercation inside the daycare, the matter escalated to such an extent that she described it as an organized attempt to extort money from the company.

According to him, former center manager Manjula worked closely with the fired employees, including Sujatha, and introduced a man named “Mahendra”, who allegedly posed as a police officer, to put pressure on the company.

Kaur alleged that Mahendra first demanded Rs 20,000 in the name of arranging legal aid after claiming to have registered an FIR. She further claimed that he later demanded Rs 2.5 lakh, allegedly promising to resolve the matter.

Little Scholars claims that when it refused to meet these financial demands and also refused to reinstate the fired employees, videos were publicly released, purportedly showing Sujatha as the whistleblower.

The company further alleged that Manjula later obstructed the investigation and absconded after learning from the police that Mahendra was allegedly not a police officer but a fraudster.

Company says Capgemini was only infrastructure provider

Kaur also sought to clarify the role of Capgemini in this matter. According to him, Capgemini only provided the premises and infrastructure for the daycare center operating inside its premises, while Little Scholars was solely responsible for recruitment, staffing, daycare operations and overall management.

He said that the company has nothing to hide and has given full cooperation to the investigators.

Little Scholars’ version of events

According to the company, the sequence of events began on June 25, when center manager Manjula informed Kaur about an alleged physical and verbal altercation between employees Sujatha and Vijaya Lakshmi R inside the Little Scholars Creche on the Capgemini campus.

Kaur said she immediately directed that both employees be terminated in accordance with the company’s zero-tolerance policy. While Vijaya Lakshmi R surrendered her company identity card, Sujatha allegedly refused and demanded payment of her pending salary before surrendering her ID.

The next day, despite their dismissal, both employees reportedly returned to the premises. The company claims he threatened center manager Manjula in an attempt to keep her job. In the presence of ICREST security and Capgemini security personnel, both women reportedly wrote apology letters, which were recorded on video and sent to Kaur.

Despite the apology, Kaur said she had directed that both women be removed from the premises. According to the company, he refused to leave and remained on the premises until the end of the day.

Later that night, Kaur claimed that Manjula told her that Sujatha’s son Gautam had allegedly made threatening calls to Manjula and security guard Lavanya. Kaur said that she has instructed to lodge a complaint with the police.

According to the company, on June 27, Manjula introduced a person named “Mahendra”, claiming that he was associated with the Electronic City police station and had influence in resolving the issue. Later that day, Manjula reportedly sent a copy of the complaint filed against Sujatha and Gautam at the Whitefield police station.

The company said that on June 28, Manjula informed Kaur that another complaint had reportedly been received at the HAL police station. During the same weekend, Little Scholars formally dismissed Sujatha and Vijaya Lakshmi R and informed Capgemini management of the decision.

According to Kaur, the situation worsened on June 29, when Manjula reported that the two dismissed employees had once again entered the Capgemini premises.

Kaur said she initiated a video call and personally spoke to the laid-off employees, asking them to surrender their identity cards and leave the premises. He said he assured them that their pending salaries and additional 15 days’ severance pay would be released immediately.

The company claims that Sujata refused to leave the company until the money was credited to her bank account. Kaur said she immediately transferred the agreed amount, shared proof of payment and instructed Manjula to collect the ID card.

Kaur said it was during this conversation that she first became suspicious of Manjula’s conduct.

According to Little Scholars, Manjula repeatedly informed Kaur that Sujata was refusing to receive payment despite proof of transfers and threatened to release the video and file an FIR.

The company further alleged that its internal investigation revealed that a mobile phone was secretly brought inside the daycare despite a ban on electronic devices, and that the video was deliberately recorded as part of a planned attempt to blackmail the organization.

Later that evening Kaur said she was informed that an FIR had been filed.

She alleged that around the same time, Mahendra started communicating with her directly and claimed that he could resolve the matter. According to Kaur, Mahendra used both his and Manjula’s phone while asking for money.

The company claims that Manjula first told Kaur that a lawyer had confirmed that no FIR existed, but minutes later she was told that an FIR had been filed along with Manjula, naming Vijaya Lakshmi R, Bindu, Sindhu and Bhavani as accused.

Kaur alleged that Mahendra later pressured her to transfer Rs 20,000 for legal expenses and then demanded Rs 2.5 lakh. She said he rejected the second demand and stopped answering her calls, after which he allegedly continued to contact her and send her media reports related to the daycare controversy.

According to Little Scholars, Capgemini management asked Manjula and other employees named in the FIR to report to the campus on June 30. However, the company alleges that Manjula refused to cooperate after claiming that Mahendra had advised her not to attend.

Kaur said she personally contacted the remaining employees and directed them to cooperate fully in the investigation.

According to the company, the four staff members later met sub-inspector Vidya at the HAL police station, where they were reportedly told that Mahendra was not a police officer but a fraudster. Little Scholars claim that, after this revelation, Manjula absconded and stopped communicating.

Little Scholars has reiterated that it is fully cooperating with investigators and says it is ready to provide all documentary and digital evidence to establish its version of events.

Police investigation is ongoing in the daycare case.

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