Manisha Govekar, 19, went missing from her home on Sunday night. Her worried parents filed a police complaint on Monday morning. A few hours later, they were informed that the girl had been found inside the garment factory unit where she worked.
According to police, she had been strangulated with her own dupatta.
Manisha lived with her father Suresh, mother Sharda and brother Milind at Rahivasi Seva Sangh at Elphinstone Road.
Sharad Shirishkar, a local NCP leader and social worker, said: “The girl’s body was found around 10.30am at Raj Enterprises, a readymade garment unit at Dhan Mill compound in Elphinstone Road. The owner of the unit, Hasmukh Rana, and a few workers were the first to discover her body. As soon as I learnt about the incident, I contacted the police and informed Manisha’s parents.”
The police have launched a manhunt for one of Manisha’s co-workers, Nagendra Pasi, who has been missing since Monday morning.
Originally from Allahabad in UP, Pasi had been working in the unit for the past four years and was drawing a salary of Rs5,000 per month. He lived in the unit’s ground floor office. “Pasi had the keys to the unit and was responsible for opening it every day,” said senior inspector Ashok Unde.
“On Monday morning, the owner and other workers found the unit locked. When they didn’t find Pasi, they broke open the door. That is when they discovered the girl’s body.”
Police suspect that Pasi may have killed the girl over a love affair gone awry and then fled from the city.
Manisha’s uncle Shankar Govekar said she had completed her matriculation and had been working in the garment factory for the past year. “On Sunday morning, Manisha went for an anti-polio campaign for a few hours. She left the house around 8.30pm without informing her family and didn’t come back,” he said.
Shankar said while Suresh was looking for his daughter, another local, Deepak, who was in an inebriated state, allegedly attacked him with a knife. Suresh sustained injuries on his right hand. He lodged a complaint against Deepak at the NM Joshi Marg police station.
“We have registered a case of murder,” said Unde. “The girl’s body has been sent to Sion hospital.”
According to Manisha’s post-mortem report, the cause of death was strangulation, said a doctor. “There were no signs of struggle or injury marks on her body to indicate rape.”
(Input from Deepa Suryanarayan)
