Srinagar, Sept. 8 -- By Owais Amin Lone

The girl went missing on a Saturday evening in May, after leaving her home for religious class.

By the next morning, her body lay roughly 200 meters away, and police in Budgam district were already treating the case as rape and murder.

Within hours, the district's senior superintendent stood before reporters and confirmed the worst. Within hours after that, so did the internet.

Police issued a formal advisory that day, warning the public and the media against posting the girl's photograph, her name, or any detail that could identify her. Officers called such disclosure unlawful. Local outlets, independent creators, and ordinary residents kept posting anyway, forwarding images and speculation fas...