Kanpur rehab centre’s ex-employee held for sending CCTV footage of minor to her father

A former employee of a private special school and rehabilitation centre in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur was arrested for allegedly circulating CCTV footage of a deaf and mute student, recorded when she was 17, to her father after being dismissed from the institution, police said.

The case was registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology Act.

Vipin Adani, 26, was dismissed in May this year over alleged financial and other irregularities. He is accused of retaining the CCTV footage without informing the centre’s management and sending it to the girl’s father after his dismissal.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Atul Srivastava said Vipin wanted to defame the institution, which was established in 2009. Vipin is currently employed at another rehabilitation centre in Kidwai Nagar.

Police said he allegedly recorded the footage after seeing the girl in an objectionable situation and kept it without informing anyone at the centre.

“The video reached the father’s WhatsApp number at around 3 pm on Friday. He had enrolled his daughter at the centre in Kakadeo for her education and care. He told police the footage was old. Its arrival left the family shocked, and he lodged a complaint at the police commissioner’s office, expressing concern for his daughter’s safety,” an officer said.

Acting on the complaint, Kakadeo police visited the centre and examined its CCTV cameras and digital video recorder (DVR).

Police traced the mobile number from which the video was sent. It was initially found to be in the possession of an employee at the centre, but further inquiry showed that its WhatsApp account was being operated on a different phone. The investigation led to Adani’s arrest.

The video also shows a young man who was studying at the same centre, police said. The young man, a resident of Kakadeo, was detained and is undergoing a medical examination. He will be produced before a court afterwards. His age has not been disclosed.

As the girl was 17 when the footage was recorded last year, police have invoked the POCSO Act, along with the Information Technology Act.

The centre’s director, who is associated with a leading hospital chain, has also been named in the FIR. Police said they were continuing to investigate the circumstances in which the footage was recorded and circulated, and that further action would depend on the evidence collected.

No one from the centre commented at the time of filing this report.