Mumbai: A 16-day-old baby girl, who went missing from her residence in Sion on Tuesday morning, was found dead in a gutter behind her house on the same evening. The Sion police suspect someone from, or known to, the family for the murder and are investigating accordingly.

A policeman on condition of anonymity said that the deceased was born to Nadeem Ansari (30) and Shama Parveen Ansari (25) out of their wedlock and she was their first child. The victim was yet to be named however, the family called her Ashi.

The police further stated that the family resides in Sunder Kamla Nagar slums near King's Circle railway station.

Initially, on Tuesday, a police team was sent to the house of the complainant when the baby was found missing. Upon reaching there the family told the police that at the time of the incident there was nobody at the house except the mother and daughter. The house is raised to three floors however, since Ashi's grandmother and aunt, who live nearby, used to visit the family's house frequently Mrs Ansari left Ashi on the ground floor and went to bathe on the third floor.

When Mrs Ansari came back after her bath she found the baby missing and raised an alarm following which chaos began and the complainant's relatives and neighbour started searching the baby.

On the same evening a few labourers, who were repairing the house of Ansari's neighbour, saw something unusual lying wrapped in cloth in a sewage drain situated exactly behind the Ansaris’ house. When a labourer went to check the event he found a baby lying unconscious. He promptly informed everyone who rushed the baby, Ashi, to Sion hospital where the doctors declared her brought dead.

Following this, the Sion police have registered a case of kidnapping aga-inst an unidentified person and are further probing the matter. A police officer said that the medical examination has dete-cted injuries on the baby's body, which is believed to be the cause of her death, however a detailed autopsy report would reveal the exact reason of her death.