Shimla, Aug. 6 -- Terming the act as "barbaric", a local court in Nahan convicted and awarded life imprisonment to a woman for thrashing her 4-year-old adopted daughter to death in 2020. The court of additional district and sessions judge, Nahan, Gaurav Mahajan, on Monday also imposed a fine of Rs.1 lakh on the convict identified as Aruna Chauhan. "This is a case where a helpless and defenceless child gets beaten by her own adopted mother only because of the fact that she used to urinate and pass stool on the bed. The mere thought that this act will result in merciless thrashing of a 4-year-old by her own mother is not only betrayal of an individual trust but destruction and devastation of social trust. It is perversity in its enormity. It irrefragably invites the extreme abhorrence and indignation of the collective. It is an anthema to the social balance where the pious relationship of mother and child has been put to shame," ruled the court. The court held that the accused Aruna on November 2, 2020, had mercilessly beaten up her adopted daughter with a wiper and had hit her on the toilet seat of bathroom with intention and knowledge that such act will cause her death. The court also pointed out that the accused, in order to mislead the investigation, had intentionally given false information to the police that the deceased had died on account of wrong medication. The postmortem showed 20 injuries on the deceased's body in addition to injuries to internal organs including lungs, stomach, intestine, liver, spleen, kidneys. The judgement added, "The barbaric act of the accused does not remotely show any concern for the precious life of a young four years old minor child who had really not seen life. The criminality of the conduct of the accused is not only depraved and debased, but can have a menacing effect on the society." "It is generally accepted in every society, especially in Indian society that one of the most sacred relationships among all human relationships is that of a mother and child. A mother is the life giver as well as the nurturer of a child. Since time immemorial we have not only been hearing but also observing the essence of the lines - a son can be a bad son, but a mother can never be a bad mother. In the present case, a mother has beaten her adoptive daughter of four years and the injuries have resulted in her death," observed the court. "One has to spare a thought for the gullibility and vulnerability of the four years girl, who was given in adoption to the accused when she was just 1-2 days old, who being an adoptive mother has extinguished her life spark," read the judgement. The court also observed that the behaviour and subsequent conduct of accused after death of her adopted daughter was that not of a mother who had lost her child. "Instead, she tried to make up a story that she died on account of some injection and medication..This is indicative of a cover on behalf of accused up to escape the liability of her acts. The act and conduct of accused points out towards a well thought after strategy and are suggestive of the fact that the accused's actions and behaviour were not spontaneous but rather a deliberate,pre-planned attempt to construct a legal defense against criminal charges."...