Srinagar: The murder and suspected rape of a minor girl in Budgam district has sent shockwaves across Kashmir with her family and political parties among others demanding swift action against the culprits. Senior superintendent of police (Budgam) Hariprasad K.K. said that the body of the 12-year-old girl who had gone missing on Saturday evening (May 23) was recovered some 200 metres from her residence in Budgam’s Galwanpora village on Sunday.“At around 7:15 am, the body of the victim was recovered. The medico-legal formalities have been finalised. Prima facie it appears to be a case of rape and murder. We will try to crack the case and the culprits will be arrested soon,” the SSP said. A police official said that a first information report (No 139/2026) has been registered at Budgam police station under sections 137(1) (kidnapping) and 103 (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).A special investigations team has been constituted to investigate the case, a police spokesperson said in a statement. Abdul Hamid, uncle of the victim, said that she had gone to an Islamic seminary in the neighbourhood at around 4 pm on Saturday but she didn’t return home following which the family and neighbours launched a manhunt along with police.He said that she would regularly attend classes at the seminary after returning from her school. “We don’t know if she was kidnapped or what exactly happened. We searched for her throughout the night without any success. Today morning, we found the body. Her Quran was lying nearby. It seemed that she was badly assaulted,” he said, while appreciating the police in helping the family in locating the victim’s body. Hamid said that the victim, who was a class 5 student, appeared to have resisted when she was assaulted by the perpetrators. “Her body was lying in water. Her fists were clenched tight and there was grass in her hand. There were big wounds beneath her eyes also,” he said, while urging the government to identify the perpetrators. Also read: SC Sets Aside Allahabad HC Judgment that Said Groping Minor Didn’t Amount to Attempt to RapeA pall of gloom descended on Galwanpora village after the body of the victim was recovered on Sunday morning and taken to her residence for conducting the last rites. Several hundreds of people attended the funeral prayers of the girl. “Qatil ko pesh karo (identify the murderer), mulzim ko, phansi do (hang the culprit),” the mourners shouted as the coffin of the young girl was taken for burial. The victim is survived by her father who works in Jammu and Kashmir police, her mother who is a housewife and her brother.“If this is how the daughter of a policeman is treated, one can only imagine what fate awaits ordinary people. The culprits should be hanged,” a woman, who could not be immediately identified, told reporters gathered outside the victim’s residence.Calling the incident “shocking and deeply distressing”, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said, “While the appropriate agencies enquire 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.”He added, “I condemn this brutal attack without reservation or condition & send my sympathies to her family. May she find place in Jannat. My government will support the agencies to the fullest extent possible to ensure exemplary punishment is given to those found guilty.”The tragic murder of a young preteen girl in Budgam district of Central Kashmir is both shocking & deeply distressing. While the appropriate agencies enquire into the circumstances of her murder, it’s also fitting that we reflect on where we as a society are headed when our young…— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 24, 2026The incident triggered massive outrage across Kashmir with the regional political parties as well as the chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq demanding swift action against the culprits.In a statement, Mirwaiz said the circumstances of the murder “are extremely painful and have shaken the conscience of every human being”.“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. A thorough, transparent and time-bound investigation must be carried out, and those responsible for this heinous act must be brought to justice and given the strictest punishment under law,” he said. Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti said that “allegations of rape just make it all the more shocking, 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 & unsettling. One shudders at the thought if our children are really safe,” Mehbooba Mufti said. 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 & unsettling. One shudders at the thought if our children are really safe.— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) May 24, 2026Similarly, PDP leader Iltija Mufti said in a post on X: “A 12-year-old girl left for the Darasgah in Budgam only to never return. What transpired in her final hours is spine chilling. Where are we headed? If we can’t even protect a minor child? What kind of a person brutally murders an innocent girl? Hope @JmuKmrPolice arrests the perverted perpetrator”. A 12 year old girl left for the Darasgah in Budgam only to never return. What transpired in her final hours is spine chilling. Where are we headed? If we can’t even protect a minor child? What kind of a person brutally murders an innocent girl? Hope @JmuKmrPolice arrests the… https://t.co/yZySpfv1vH— Iltija Mufti (@IltijaMufti_) May 24, 2026The suspected rape and murder of the minor girl in Budgam is reminiscent of a similar incident in 2007 in which a class 8 student was abducted and murdered in north Kashmir’s Handwara. After a prolonged trial, four accused arrested in the case were sentenced to death by a court in Kupwara district in 2015.