JHELUM VALLEY (Kashmir English): The mystery surrounding the recovery of a woman’s body from Chinari Cham Waterfall has been exposed as a case of honor killing, police confirmed.
While talking to the media, Superintendent of Police (SP) District Jhelum Valley Abbas Ali said that on December 26, 2025, police received information from reliable sources about a woman’s body lying near the Cham waterfall.
Following the report, the SHO of Chinari Police Station, along with a police team, rushed to the spot where 25 to 30 people, including locals of Deeba Cham, were present.
The police identified the deceased as Shaista Hameed, the wife of Majid Aziz. Initially, Shaista’s father, Abdul Hameed, and uncle Abdul Aziz claimed that the deceased was possessed by a jinn [supernatural powers] and she died by accidentally falling from the waterfall.
They stated that they had no suspicion of anyone and did not wish to pursue legal action. A Panchayat Nama was also presented, declaring the death accidental.
However, police said that upon inspection, the height of the waterfall was found to be approximately 300 to 350 feet, while the body showed no injuries consistent with a fall from such a height, except for a head injury.
Declaring the death suspicious, police shifted the body to DHQ Hospital Hattian Bala for a postmortem. After completion of the postmortem, the body was handed over to the heirs, and proceedings were initiated under Section 174 CrPC, SP Jhelum Valley said.
During the investigation, it was later revealed that the deceased was pregnant, over which there was a dispute between the parents. Police further found that her father allegedly got angry and hit her on the head and back with a stone, due to which Shaista lost her life.
Later, to hide the crime, the body was thrown into the waterfall, and the incident was falsely portrayed as a supernatural occurrence.
Police stated that the deceased’s mother, mother-in-law, and aunt were aware of the incident and deliberately concealed the facts. Moreover, the initial complainant, Abdul Aziz, despite knowing the truth, declared the death an accident and later registered a case without nominating anyone, for which he is now also being treated as an accused.
SP Abbas Ali said that a case has been registered under Section 302 of the PPC, and six accused, Abdul Hameed, Abdul Aziz, Naseer, Gulshan Bibi, Nazima Bibi, and Amreen Bibi, have been arrested and remanded into police custody.
Police officials said that a deliberate attempt was made to cover up the crime to avoid social backlash, but assured that the investigation is being conducted strictly on merit from all angles.
