Thane: A 13-year-old girl who was missing from Kalyan was found dead in the Bapgaon area of Kalyan on Tuesday morning. The police said that a missing complaint was filed at Kolsewadi police station on Monday night. The body of the girl was found near isolated place within the jurisdiction of the Padgha police station on Tuesday.

The police said that a girl took Rs 20 from her mother, left home, and was heading towards the local shop to purchase a chocolate. Thereafter, she did not return home until late evening. Following this, the mother alerted her family members that the girl had not come home.

Thereafter, they all searched for her in the locality but could not trace her. They approached the police station and filed a kidnapping report against an unknown man at the Kolsewadi police station at late night.

The police said that they rushed to the scene after receiving information that a girl's body was dumped in and around the isolated place. Subsequently, the body was taken to primary Healthcare center in Padgha for medical treatment and later sent to JJ Hospital for a post-mortem.

Bala Kumbhar, a police officer from the Padgha police station, said, "We have sent the body of the girl to JJ Hospital for a post-mortem. Preliminary investigations indicated that the girl was sexually assaulted by unknown person. She was strangled by someone. Therefore, a case has been filed under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. A case will be transferred to Kolsewadi police station for further investigation."