A daycare owner and operator in Abbotsford, B.C., has been charged with assaulting children.
Abbotsford police said that in October 2024 their major crime unit launched an investigation of children being assaulted at the daycare in East Abbotsford.
The alleged incidents, dating back to 2022, involved children aged two to six years old, police said.
The investigation continued over the past few months and on Tuesday, detectives arrested 61-year-old Indu Takhar.
She has now been charged with six counts of assault and has been released from custody under several court-ordered conditions that include not going to any daycare centres and having no contact with any person under the age of 16 years old.
“I can confirm that the children were no longer at the daycare,” Const. Jody Thomas with Abbotsford police told Global News.
“And these are kids. They’re aged two to six. So, of course, we have officers that are specialized in interviewing children. And it involved, you know, you have to interview everybody involved. And that’s a that’s a lot of interviews to conduct and ensuring that we find everybody that we can that may have information to help us.”
A person with the same name is listed as the owner and founder of Smile ‘N’ Play Daycare with two locations on McKinley Drive, which is in East Abbotsford.
Get breaking National news
In a statement, Fraser Health confirmed the investigation is related to Smile ‘N’ Play Daycare Centre in Abbotsford.
“As part of our commitment to child safety, we have launched our own investigation and are actively monitoring all three Smile ‘N’ Play Daycare Centre locations to ensure they comply with the Child Care Licensing Regulation and the Community Care and Assisted Living Act,” Fraser Health stated.
“While the investigation is ongoing, the individual named in the complaint is not permitted to access any of the locations, all of which remain open.”
The health authority said that as soon as they received a complaint about the daycare operator, they took immediate action by implementing a safety plan across all three daycare sites.
“We are committed to transparency, and once our investigation is complete, we will post a summary of substantiated complaints online. Parents and caregivers can also review routine inspection reports and complaint findings at this website.
“We understand that this is a difficult time for families, and we remain dedicated to ensuring that all children receive care in a safe, supportive, and well-regulated environment.”
Thomas said they don’t know if there are other victims.
“Our detectives did a very thorough investigation, but of course, it’s involving (children) dating back to 2022,” she said.
“So if there are anybody else that are out there that have information or any other children that maybe attended the daycare that we are unaware of to contact us if they have further information.”
Detectives are asking anyone with more information to contact the Abbotsford Police Department at 604-859-5225.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Comments