Palghar: The body of an 8-year-old girl missing since December 1 from Pelhar in Maharashtra's Palghar district was found in a room in a chawl on Monday evening, a police official said.

The body, which was packed in a plastic bag, is highly decomposed, he said, adding a murder case has been registered.

"The girl had gone out to purchase something after coming back from school. However, she went missing following which police was alerted. Her body was found after neighbours complained of a foul smell from the room," he said.