The severed head of a woman has been found in a drain in Maharashtra`s Thane district, prompting police to register a case of murder against unidentified persons, officials said on Sunday, reported news agency PTI.

Some passerby spotted the chopped head of the unidentified woman, believed to be in the age group of 25 to 30 years, lying in the drain near a slaughterhouse on Idgah Road in the Bhiwandi area around 11.30 am on Saturday, they said, reported PTI.

After being alerted, police reached the spot and sent the severed head, with metal jewellery in the nose and ears, to a hospital for examination, an official from the Bhiwandi police control room said, reported PTI.

A case has been registered against unidentified persons under sections 103(1)(murder) and 238(destruction of evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and a probe was on into it, he said.

Man strangled to death in south Mumbai

In another case, a 26-year-old man was strangled to death by unidentified persons in the Dongri area of south Mumbai, police said on Saturday, reported PTI.

The victim, Arafat Mehboob Khan, was found dead by his brother on the road near Liberty House Gate on Friday night, an official said, reported PTI.

The police were alerted, and a forensics team arrived at the scene, he said.

Khan`s body bore a strangulation mark on the neck, the official said, reported PTI.

A murder case has been registered against unidentified persons, and the police are scanning CCTV footage from the locality to trace the accused.

Boy stabs 15-year-old girl to death in Nagpur; detained

Meanwhile, a 15-year-old girl was murdered in Maharashtra`s Nagpur city on Friday afternoon, allegedly by a boy just a year elder to her, a police official said, reported PTI.

The victim was walking to her house with two friends when the accused, a resident of Rambagh, stopped her and attacked her with a sharp weapon near St Anthony School, the Ajni police station official said, reported PTI.

“She collapsed after being stabbed multiple times and was declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. The 16-year-old accused, who fled from the spot, was apprehended later and has been detained. A probe is underway to find out why he committed this crime,” the official said.

(With inputs from PTI)

This article first appeared on Mid Day