In a shocking incident, an Indian Army soldier went missing on Thursday from north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, police said.
Zahoor Ahmad Thakur, with the 173 Territorial Army, was reported missing from his camp in Gantmulla area along with an AK-47 rifle.
The arms and ammunition held by the Army man, who hails from Pulwama, are also missing and police have launched a manhunt to track him.
There are apprehensions that the said army man may have fled with militants but police have not confirmed this so far.
“Thakur deserted the army on the intervening night of July 5-6. He has ran away with the service assault rifle and three magazines,” said the official.
The police has issued a major alert in the Valley. “All field formations are alerted,” according to an official communique.
The separatists have called a week-long protest to mark the first death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
Wani was killed in a gunfight in Kokarnag area of Anantnag district on July 8, 2016. Hizbul Mujahideen is planning to commemorate the death anniversary of Wani.
The Hizbul militant’s death triggered a summer of discontent and months of violence in Kashmir that left nearly a hundred people dead.
Wani was the architect of the social-media driven psychological warfare in Kashmir.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration is already on the edge following reports that a large number of Kashmiris are planning to commemorate Wani’s death anniversary.
