The police have issued a high alert and asked all the formations of the security forces to keep a tight vigil and track down the soldier
Alarm bells are ringing for security forces after a Kashmiri Army soldier deserted his unit and decamped with his service rifle, possibly to join the militant ranks in south Kashmir.
Hailing from Sarnu village in south Kashmir's Pulwama district, Sepoy Zahoor Ahmad Thokar, of 173 Territorial Army (Engineers), deserted his unit at Gantamulla in North Kashmir's Baramulla on Wednesday night. Thokar also decamped with his AK-47 rifle and three magazines.
"It is a big army and there are so many jawans. Just one such act is not a very big problem. We will take steps so that such incidents do not occur again. I do not find it to be a big worry. Jawans are working hard with a lot of enthusiasm," said Major General AK Singh, general officer commanding, Kilo Force, of the Army.
Thokar, 27, had joined the Army two years ago and had gone on leave for two days during Eid. "After resuming his duty, he went missing from his unit on Wednesday night along with his service rifle. His mobile phone is also switched off," said a police officer.
The police have issued a high alert and asked all the formations of the security forces to keep a tight vigil and track down the soldier. "Please keep a sharp look-out and alert all field formations deployed under your command and control," reads a police alert to all security forces engaged in counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
The police suspect Thokar might have joined the militant ranks since he had returned from home. "We are investigating whether there was any coercion that forced Thokar to join the militant ranks," said an officer.
Interestingly, the camp that Sepoy Thokar deserted was in the news for all the right reasons a few months ago. Thousands of people across Kashmir had turned up for an Army recruitment rally at this camp.
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