A security personnel stands guard near the site of the encounter, at Gujjarpati area in Sopore, Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, on Monday.
Credit: PTI Photo
Srinagar: A soldier who had gone missing on Saturday while returning to duty from home after holidays in Chittergul area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district was traced by police, officials said on Sunday.
They said Rifleman Abid Bhat had been spending his holidays at home and was expected to return to his posting at Rangreth, a military camp in Srinagar. However, he failed to report for duty by Saturday.
“This evening he was traced by the police and is being questioned about his mysterious missing,” officials said and ruled out any militancy angle in the case.
The circumstances surrounding Bhat’s disappearance remain unclear.
In the past several soldiers on leave have been abducted by militants and later some of them were also killed.
On October 9, 2024, the bullet-ridden body of a Territorial Army (TA) soldier, who had been abducted by terrorists in Anantnag, was found by security forces. This incident marked the latest in a series of abductions involving soldiers in Kashmir.
Earlier, in August 2023, an army soldier went missing from his home in Kulgam district while on leave but was later found by the police. In 2019, another soldier, Yasin Bhat, narrowly escaped a kidnapping attempt at his home in Qazipora, Budgam.
Over the past nine years, more than five soldiers have been abducted and killed in various parts of Kashmir, with the majority of incidents occurring in the Shopian and Kulgam districts of south Kashmir. Notably, one case was also reported from Budgam in 2022. These recurring incidents highlight the ongoing security challenges faced by local military personnel in Kashmir.