New Delhi: An Indian army soldier went missing on Thursday along with his AK-47 rifle and three magazines from a camp in Baramulla district of north Kashmir, with police suspecting he may have joined the ranks of terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.
“A Territorial Army soldier in Gantmulla area of Jammu and Kashmir is suspected to have left his unit with an AK-47 rifle. Sepoy Zahoor Ahmad Thokar has been missing since last night from his camp in Baramulla. Thoker’s service rifle and three magazines are also missing,” police sources in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) told Gulf News.
Thokar worked in the Engineering Wing of 173 Battalion of the Territorial Army.
“An alert has been sounded and security forces have been directed to remain vigilant as the soldier could have joined militant ranks,” the police sources added.
Thokar belongs to Pulwama district of South Kashmir.
“The security apparatus has been put on high alert as Zahoor Ahmad Thokar has good knowledge of the security system and units deployed in the entire Kashmir Valley. It is a matter of grave concern,” the sources further revealed.
In recent past, there have been a few instances were policemen have joined militant ranks. In April, constable Syed Naveed Mushtaq fled with four INSAS rifles from the guard post at the Food Corporation of India godown in Budgam and later joined militant ranks.
In the last four years, at least five cops had joined militant ranks in Kashmir; the most prominent among them was constable Naseer Pandit from Pulwama. He joined Hizbul Mujahideen in 2015 and was a close aide of Burhan Wani. He was later killed in 2016.
Meanwhile, the separatist groups in Kashmir have called a week-long protest to mark the first death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
“Hizbul Mujahideen is planning to commemorate the death anniversary of Burhan Wani, who was killed in an encounter along with two other militants in Anantnag district, on July eight last year. The Valley is already on the edge because of this. And with Thokar going missing, the situation has gone from bad to worse,” the sources informed Gulf News.