Autopsy at JJ Hospital in Mumbai revealed that the girl had been raped (Representational photo)

A five-year-old girl, kidnapped by an unidentified person, was found dead at Mahim in Central Mumbai Thursday morning, with the police stating that she was sexually assaulted.

The girl was kidnapped around 3:00 am from LJ Road in Mahim when she was asleep alongwith her family members in their roadside shanty, a police official said.

Her father, a labourer, noticed that she was missing when he woke up, and lodged a police complaint.

The girl was found dead in a deserted place on the same road around 10.00 am, the police official said.

Autopsy at the state-run JJ Hospital revealed that she had been raped.

"We have registered an offence of rape with murder and also added sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act," said Vikram Deshmane, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone -V).

Police have formed multiple teams to investigate the crime, he said.