3 min readSrinagarUpdated: May 25, 2026 05:33 AM IST
The body of a 12-year-old girl, who went missing on Saturday, was found close to her home in central Kashmir’s Budgam district on Sunday, in what the police suspect is a case of rape and murder.
The incident has sent shockwaves across Kashmir, where political and religious leaders expressed pain and shock.
According to officials, the girl had left home on Saturday evening but did not return. The family lodged a missing persons report with the police late on Saturday night, and the body was found early on Sunday morning, just around 200 metres from her house.
“At around 7.15 in the morning, the body was recovered from a plot some 200 metres from the girl’s home,” Budgam SSP Hariprasad K K said. “We have completed the medical formalities. Prima facie, it seems a case of rape and murder,” he added.
The SSP further said that the police had registered a case of kidnapping on Saturday night and added further charges in the FIR after the discovery of the body the next morning.
The police have started their investigation into the case, and initial searches are being conducted in a one-km radius of the area where the body was found, the officer said, adding, “We have employed tracer dogs also, and are in the process of seizing (footage from) all CCTV cameras in the area.”
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has called the incident deeply distressing, saying his government would support the agencies to the fullest extent possible to ensure exemplary punishment is given to those found guilty.
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“The tragic murder of a young preteen girl in Budgam district of central Kashmir is both shocking and deeply distressing. While the appropriate agencies inquire into the circumstances of her murder, it’s also fitting that we reflect on where we as a society are headed when our young children are not safe,” the Chief Minister said in a post on X.
“I condemn this brutal attack without reservation or condition and send my sympathies to her family,” he said.
Former chief minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti termed the incident disconcerting and unsettling. “Devastated to hear about the cold-blooded murder of a 12-year-old girl in Budgam. The allegations of rape just make it all the more shocking, disconcerting and unsettling. One shudders at the thought of whether our children are really safe,” she said.
The Valley’s chief cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, said the incident has shaken the conscience of every human being.
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“Heartbroken and deeply disturbed by the tragic death of a 12-year-old girl in Budgam, who went missing while on her way to the Darsgah. The circumstances surrounding this incident are extremely painful and have shaken the conscience of every human being,” he said, adding, “What are we becoming as a society if our children cannot even feel safe on their way to seek education and guidance? Such incidents spread fear, grief and deep anxiety among people and demand serious introspection at every level.”
Mirwaiz called for a “thorough, transparent and time-bound” investigation into the suspected rape and murder, and sought strict punishment for those responsible.
