The Army and the police have launched a joint search for a soldier who went missing from his village in Budgam district early this week, officials said today.

Sameer Ahmad Malla of the Army’s J&K Light Infantry (JAKLI) regiment went missing from his Lokipora village of Khag on Monday. Posted in Jammu, he was on leave to be with his wife on the birth of their second child.

Malla was in the news four years ago when his role was investigated for allegedly driving his company commander Major Leetul Gogoi and a local girl to a hotel here. Major Gogoi, who was in the centre of the 2017 “human shield” controversy, suffered loss of seniority and faced exit from Kashmir for “fraternising” with a local woman in 2018. A court martial had held Gogoi and his driver Malla guilty on two counts — “fraternising” with a local woman in spite of instructions to the contrary and “being away from the place of duty while in operational area”.

Officials said Malla had last talked to his mother from his mobile phone and informed her that his phone battery was running low and in case it gets switched off, he would get in touch with her.

Malla’s phone is switched off and his whereabouts are not known, officials said, adding that his family told them that he had gone out to visit a neighbouring village and did not return. His family suspected that he might have been abducted by terrorists, a claim that was not ruled out by security agencies. —

Courtesy: The Tribune India: 9th March , 2022