Mohali: Stepmother murders 2-yr-old girl, arrested

Nearly three months after a two-year-old girl died a suspicious death in Daun village, Balongi, police have arrested her stepmother for murdering her.
The accused, identified as Ayesha Praveen, 26, beat the toddler to death, as evidenced by the autopsy report, said police.
A native of Islam Nagar, Roorkee, Praveen had moved to Mohali after marrying the toddler’s father Mohammad Nadeem, 25, also a native of Roorkee and an auto driver, on January 5, 2024.
Her arrest came following a complaint by Nadeem, who alleged that she had been beating and torturing his daughter, Zara Malik, since they got married.
“On August 17, when I returned home from work around 7 pm, I found my daughter lying unconscious. When I checked with my wife, she feigned ignorance. I rushed Zara to the Kharar civil hospital, where doctors declared her dead,” Nadeem narrated in his complaint, lodged last month.
He said when he informed Praveen about his daughter’s death and asked her to reach the hospital, she refused. After he consulted the hospital staff, he learnt that there were multiple scars and injuries on the child’s body, leading him to Praveen’s involvement in her death.
Autopsy pointed at multiple injuries by repeated beating
Following the child’s death, police had initially initiated inquest proceedings in the case and sent her body for autopsy at the Kharar civil hospital.
As per the autopsy and examination of external injuries report prepared by Dr Jaspreet Singh at the hospital, contusion was found on the victim’s lower back.
The head and neck were swollen, and there were bruises on the left side of the face, behind the ear and throat, pointing at the possibility of battered baby syndrome (injuries caused by repeated beating).
The autopsy report further stated, “The mentioned external injuries could have ruptured the trachea, which further led to sudden cardiopulmonary arrest, causing multi-organ failure and death.”
The report noted that the victim died within a few minutes after injuries.
Following the autopsy revelations, police booked Parveen under Section 103 (murder) of BNS on Wednesday and arrested her from Roorkee on Thursday, said Balongi SHO Kulwant Singh.