Mohali, June 7 -- A 23-year-old woman of Haridwar, Uttarakhand, has been awarded rigorous life imprisonment for the murder of her two-year-old stepdaughter. The case dates to August 17, 2024, when the toddler, Zara Malik, was brought unconscious to the civil hospital in Phase-6, Mohali, and subsequently declared dead. Initially, the child's father, Mohammad Nadeem, told police that Zara had died a natural death. In accordance with his statements, inquest proceedings under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were initiated. Weeks later, however, Nadeem approached the Mohali senior superintendent of police (SSP), alleging that his second wife, Ayesha Parveen, had repeatedly abused Zara and was responsible for her death. He told investigators that Parveen didn't like caring for the child from his first marriage and often quarrelled with him over the issue. According to Nadeem, he left for work on August 17 and returned home in the evening to find Zara lying unconscious. He rushed her to hospital, but doctors could not save her. He later claimed that Zara had previously complained that her stepmother had beaten her. According to court records, the first post-mortem report mentioned sudden cardio-pulmonary arrest (CPA) but omitted details of external injuries. Later, the doctor issued a corrected report documenting multiple bruises, swelling on the head, injuries to the neck and back, fractured ribs and ruptures to the trachea and larynx. The doctor stated that these injuries could have caused the fatal cardio-pulmonary arrest. The court noted that even the investigating officer conducting the initial inquest failed to record visible injury marks on the child's body and instead described the death as "sudden and natural". Later investigators examined photographs showing visible injuries on Zara's face, lips, neck and other body parts. Police also received a video clip in which Parveen allegedly admitted before local journalists that she had beaten the child in anger and regretted her actions. The defence argued that Zara had suffered injuries after slipping in a bathroom and questioned the reliability of the post-mortem reports. Defence counsel also highlighted the delay in the registration of the FIR and claimed false implication due to matrimonial disputes. After examining the evidence, sessions judge Atul Kasana rejected the defence arguments. The court ruled that the injuries could not have resulted from an accidental fall and noted that Zara was in the exclusive custody of Parveen when she sustained the fatal injuries. Invoking Section 106 of the Indian Evidence Act, the court held that Parveen failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the circumstances leading to the child's death. The judge observed that the medical evidence, surrounding circumstances and the accused's conduct formed a complete chain pointing to her guilt. Holding Parveen guilty under Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the court sentenced her to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs.10,000. The court declined to award the death penalty, stating that the case did not fall within the "rarest of rare" category....