The severed head of a woman has been found in a drain in Maharashtra's Thane district, prompting police to register a case of murder against unidentified persons, officials said on Sunday, reported news agency PTI.

Some passerby spotted the chopped head of the unidentified woman, believed to be in the age group of 25 to 30 years, lying in the drain near a slaughterhouse on Idgah Road in the Bhiwandi area around 11.30 am on Saturday, they said, reported PTI.

After being alerted, police reached the spot and sent the severed head, with metal jewellery in the nose and ears, to a hospital for examination, an official from the Bhiwandi police control room said, reported PTI.