Mumbai crime: Missing 5-year-old strangled to death, found dead in women's loo

Anjali Saroj, who was was found murdered in the toilet at the railway station

The town of Navsari erupted in wrath after a 5-year-old was found murdered in the women's toilet at the local railway station on Sunday. She had been strangled to death. The girl's family had reported her missing on Saturday , but the locals allege that the police did not register a case until the next day.

According to police sources, Anjali Saroj had gone out to play on Saturday. The Std I student was living with her grandparents, while her parents live at their native place. It was around 8.30 pm that her grandparents realised that she was missing.

The police have prepared a sketch of the suspect. Pics/Hanif Patel

Nowhere to be seen
They went outside their residence at Sai Arpan Apartments, but she was nowhere to be seen. The grandparents then approached the Tulinj police, but the cops allegedly did not register their complaint that day.

On Sunday, Navsari Police found the child's lifeless body in a toilet at Navsari railway station. Her picture was circulated among various police stations in and outside Gujarat. The photo reached Tulinj police station, and the victim was identified as Anjali.

Suspect spotted
Police later scanned the CCTV cameras in and around her building, and spotted the suspect - a woman who was offering food to all the children. She started walking with the kids, but after a while, she left the other children and took Anjali with her. Anjali's grandfather, Harishchandra Saroj , alleged, "The police did not register a kidnapping complaint that day. Instead they told us to search for the child. The kidnapping case was registered on Sunday, and only then did they begin scanning the CCTV footage and coordinating with other police stations. If the cops had started looking for her immediately, Anjali would have been alive."

However, the Tulinj police denied the allegation, and claimed that they registered the case late on Saturday evening. "All allegations are false; we registered the case around 11 pm on Saturday, and were investigating. We took CCTV images and made a sketch of the accused and have circulated these among various police stations. We are searching for the suspect," said an officer from Tulinj police station.

The murder charge has now also been added to the case, the cop added.