A bag with the body of a 56-year-old man stuffed inside was found at Dombivali in the district on Thursday, the police said.
The deceased was identified as Umesh P. Patil (56), a retired court employee who had gone missing from his house here two days ago.
The bag was found in the bushes near the railway ground in Dombivali around 9 in the morning, said senior inspector R N Munagekar of Vishnu Nagar police station.
There were no external injuries on the body, the police officer said.
Patil worked as a steno at the Sessions Court in Mumbai and had taken voluntary retirement five years ago, he said.
He had gone missing from his house in Kopri area of Thane on February 4 and the family had filed a missing person complaint.
A case of murder was registered and further probe is on, said inspector Munagekar.