Security forces launch massive search operation for missing solder in Kashmir
The soldier was on his way home in Shopian when unidentified men stopped him and allegedly set his car ablaze.
A massive search by the army and the police is underway in south Kashmir’s Kulgam and Shopian districts to trace a Territorial Army (TA) soldier who went missing Sunday night when he was on his way home.
Rifleman Shakir Manzoor, a resident of Shopian, went missing after his car was stopped by some unidentified people at Rambhama village in Kulgam district on Sunday evening. The army suspects that militants operating in south Kashmir are behind the kidnapping of the 24-year-old soldier who had joined the Army’s 162 TA battalion in 2018 and was now with 22 sector Rashtriya Rifles.
Officials said the soldier’s car was stopped and then set on fire by the unidentified people and when relatives and police reached near the spot in the evening, he was missing.
Police officials fear that Manzoor has been abducted by militants. Police have also questioned some people near the spot where the burnt car was found.
Soon after the incident, police and army teams launched a joint operation in several areas of Shopian and Kulgam districts to trace Manzoor. On Monday morning they expanded the search operations but he couldn’t be located till the evening. So far no militant group has claimed responsibility for the abduction.
“The abandoned burnt car of Manzoor has been found near Kulgam. It is suspected that the soldier has been abducted by terrorists. Search operation is in progress,” an army spokesperson said in a statement.
Relatives said Manzoor was on leave when his car stopped and set on fire.
