JAMMU, October 26, 2026 – Raising serious alarms over women’s safety in the Union Territory, official data reveals that at least 16,397 women and girls, including minors, have gone missing in Jammu and Kashmir since 2019. Shockingly, 4,271 of them remain untraced to date.
The startling figures were obtained by The Tribune through a Right to Information (RTI) application filed with the J&K Home Department. While specific district-wise details were not provided by the department, the overall numbers paint a concerning picture.
According to the official data, a total of 14,593 adult women were reported missing in J&K between 2019 and June 2026. Out of these, 11,338 women were successfully traced by authorities, leaving 3,255 adult women still missing.
The situation is particularly distressing for minors. Between 2019 and August 2026, 1,804 minor girls were reported missing. While 788 were traced, an alarming 1,016 minor girls remain untraced. Overall, authorities have managed to trace 12,126 of the total 16,397 missing females, leaving more than 26 percent of the cases unresolved.
The year-on-year data shows a worrying upward trajectory. The number of missing adult women was 1,388 in 2019 and 1,398 in 2020. This number spiked to 1,854 in 2021. After a slight dip in 2022 (1,766 cases), the figure surged dramatically in 2023 with 2,242 women reported missing. The highest number was recorded in 2025, with 2,595 adult women going missing (493 of whom remain untraced).
A similar rising trend was observed in cases involving minors. While 150 girls went missing in 2019, the numbers jumped in the following years, reaching a peak of 289 missing minor girls in 2025. In the current year alone, up to August 2026, 286 girls have already been reported missing, with 158 remaining untraced.
Compounding these grim statistics, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2024 indicated that J&K recorded 1,202 cases pertaining to kidnapping, abduction, or inducing women to compel them into marriage. The fact that more than half of the missing minor girls reported since 2019 remain untraced has raised urgent questions regarding child protection and women’s safety mechanisms across the region.
Published by True Roots Media Network