At least 16,397 women and girls have been reported missing in Jammu and Kashmir since 2019, with 4,271 still untraced, according to official figures accessed by The Tribune through a Right to Information (RTI) application filed with the J&K Home Department.
The data shows that 14,593 adult women went missing between 2019 and June 2026. Of them, 11,338 were traced, while 3,255 remain untraced.
Among minor girls, 1,804 cases were reported between 2019 and August 2026. While 788 girls were traced, 1,016 remain missing.
Overall, authorities have traced 12,126 of the 16,397 women and girls reported missing, leaving more than 26 per cent of cases unresolved. The Home Department did not provide district-wise details in response to the RTI application, the report said.
Missing Cases Peaked in 2025
The figures show a rise in missing adult women over the period, from 1,388 cases in 2019 and 1,398 in 2020 to 1,854 in 2021. The number dipped to 1,766 in 2022 before increasing to 2,242 in 2023.
In 2025, the number of adult women reported missing reached 2,595, the highest annual figure in the data. Of these, 2,102 were traced, while 493 remained untraced. The second-highest number of unresolved cases among adult women was recorded in 2023, when 699 of the 2,242 women reported missing remained untraced.
A similar trend was observed among minor girls, though the numbers were lower. The number of cases fell from 150 in 2019 to 122 in 2020, before rising to 221 in 2021, 249 in 2022 and 261 in 2023.
The figure dropped to 226 in 2024 before reaching 289 in 2025. Of the girls reported missing that year, 166 remained untraced.
Between January and August 2026, 286 minor girls were reported missing, of whom 158 remained untraced, according to the figures.
More than half of the minor girls reported missing during the period covered by the data remain untraced.
Data Raises Questions About Unresolved Cases
The figures come amid concerns over crimes involving the kidnapping and abduction of women in the Union Territory.
According to National Crime Records Bureau data for 2024, Jammu and Kashmir recorded 1,202 cases involving the kidnapping, abduction or inducement of women to compel them to marry under Section 87 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
However, the missing-person figures do not establish the circumstances behind individual disappearances or indicate how many cases are linked to kidnapping or forced marriage.
The absence of district-wise data also limits the information available on where the cases were reported and how they have progressed.
