Kashmir: Army jawan goes missing in Kulgam; massive hunt on to track him

An Indian army soldier was reported missing from Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said in Srinagar on Sunday.

Javaid Ahmad Wani, a resident of Achathal area of Kulgam district, had gone missing Saturday evening, officials said. Wani, posted in Ladakh region, was on leave. His car was found in Paranhall later last evening, they said. Security forces have launched a massive hunt to track down the missing soldier.

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Citing his family, some reports claimed that Wani was kidnapped from his vehicle in Kulgam district. However, the police have not yet confirmed the abduction claims. Media reports suggest that Wani had left for a grocery store at Chowalgam, but when he didn’t return home, his family started looking for him in nearby areas. Another report claimed that a pair of his slippers and blood stains were found in his car in Paranhall village.

The banned Lashker-e-Taiba terror outfit had last year abducted and killed army soldier Sameer Ahmad Malla whose body was found in an orchard in Budgam district, police said. The last call made by Malla, a territorial army jawan attached with the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, to his mother was also made when he was being held in captivity by the Lashker-e-Taiba led by Yusuf Kantoo. Kashmir range IGP Vijay Kumar had described Kantoo, one of the oldest surviving terrorists, as “the mastermind behind the killing of the army jawan”.