The incident was reported from suburban Kandivali and Borivali.
Could a paedophile psychopath be on the prowl in suburban Mumbai?
The question has come to the fore after two cases of sexual assault on minor girls, both pavement dwellers, were reported from the neighbouring suburbs of Kandivali and Borivali.
On Sunday morning, a five-year-old girl was found murdered under a flyover in Borivali opposite the Sanjay Nandhi National Park. The girl had been raped and then strangled to death. Her parents found her body in a pool of blood with scars on her face.
A family member of the girl said, "Her face was scarred. The police took her away and we didn't see her at all."
On August 22, a few kilometres away in Kandivali, another five-year old pavement dweller was abducted and raped. The girl survived and is now recuperating at a hospital.
The police now hope that CCTV footage from the area will help lead them to the killer, but in the Kandivali incident, the footage has not been of much help as the accused's face is not visible.
"We will know that what other forms of torture the girl had suffered only after the medical examination is conducted. There are signs of murder, she was strangulated. The rest we will come to know of only after the medical examination. The investigation is underway," said Dr P V Ugale, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 12, Mumbai.