The decapitated body of a young woman was found in the Waliv creek in Palghar in the early hours of Monday. According to the police, local residents crossing the bridge over the creek spotted the body and called the Palghar Police control room around 3.30 a.m.
“We sent a team to the spot and removed the body from the water. It had a sack of cement tied around the torso. The head had been cut off, and is yet to be found. Prima facie, the body seems to be of a woman in her early to mid-20s,” Additional Superintendent of Police (Vasai) Vijaykant Sagar said.
Mr. Sagar said based on the condition of the body, the woman seems to have been dead for two to three days. As there are no CCTV cameras covering the bridge, police teams are conducting inquiries in residential localities on both sides to find out if anyone has seen suspicious activity in the last few days.
“As the body seems to have been in the water for a long time, it was bloated and we could not discern any external injuries. The cause of death is still being ascertained,” an officer with the Waliv police said.
The officer said wireless alerts have been sent out across Palghar and in the Thane and Thane Rural commissionerates seeking information on any women in their 20s reported missing in the last few days.
“We are also seeking the assistance of our local informants. If the murderer is a member of the victim’s family, he or she might not register a missing person’s report immediately to delay or derail the investigation. We are finding out through informants if any resident has gone missing recently,” the officer said.
The Waliv police have registered an FIR of murder under the Indian Penal Code against unknown persons for now.
