Missing jawan in Jammu and Kashmir, suspected kidnapping by terrorists

Srinagar / New Delhi, Ta. Monday, August 3, 2020

A jawan of the Indian Territorial Army has been missing since 5 pm on Sunday. The Indian Army informed about this by tweeting. Accordingly, Rifleman Shakir Manzoor left on Sunday evening with his family to celebrate Eid. An investigation was then carried out before reaching home. His car was found burnt on the road.

Indian Army officials believe the jawan may have been abducted by terrorists. But so far no definite information has been received as to whether there was a terrorist call. A burnt car was found on the roadside from Rambhama area near Kulgam. After that, a search operation has been launched in Shopinya, Kulgam and Anantnag districts.

Drones and sniffer dogs have also been deployed in the search operation. Manzoor's family appealed to those who had caught him to leave without harm. The missing soldier was part of the Territorial Army. That means he was not a full time soldier. Only a few months of the year did he have to serve as a soldier.

A new trend has started among terrorists to capture soldiers who are on leave or not on duty. However, such incidents do not happen regularly. According to the Army, the abduction was reported three years later. An Army officer was similarly abducted in May 2017 and his body was later found.