Woman found dead inside National Park

In the early hours of the morning yesterday, a 27-year-old woman was found brutally murdered inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) premises at Borivali (East). The deceased, Sarla Ahire, had left her Goregaon residence the previous day for work, but never reached office.

The woman's throat had been slit and her handbag was missing. Pic/Nimesh Dave

Ahire, who was unmarried, stayed with her mother and sister at Tanaji Nagar in Goregaon's Teen Dongri area. She was employed in a company that makes imitation jewellery. Around 9 am on Wednesday, Ahire left home for work.

"She had been unwell for a long time and had stayed away from work for a month. She had resumed only a week earlier and her family was concerned about her health. Thrice on Wednesday, Ahire called up her mother to assure her that she had reached office and had eaten," said Senior Inspector Bharat Worlikar, Kasturba Marg police station.

The victim's sister was supposed to pick her up from office in the evening. But when she showed up at the office to do so, she was shocked when the employer told her Ahire hadn't reported to work at all. After looking for her the entire night, her family approached the Goregaon police in the morning yesterday and registered a missing complaint.

Meanwhile, the Kasturba Marg police were informed about a woman's body having being found at Trimurti village inside SGNP. A group of children had noticed the body at 10.30 yesterday. The woman's throat had been slit and her handbag was missing. Her jewellery, however, was intact. The police circulated her photograph to other police stations. She was later identified as Ahire and the body was sent for an autopsy. The police have also requested forensics experts to find out whether she had been sexually assaulted.

The police suspect that a soured relationship could be a possible motive and are questioning her close friends."When we found her body, Ahire's hands had been bound behind her back. A dupatta had also been tied over her eyes. We are probing whether she was offered a spiked drink before she was killed," Worlikar told this newspaper. The police will be checking CCTV footage at the main entrance of SGNP to see if anyone accompanied her inside SGNP.u00a0