Soldier abducted by ultras found dead in Valley forest

A day after militants allegedly abducted a Territorial Army jawan from a forest area in south Kashmir, the security forces on Wednesday found his bullet-riddled body during a search operation that was launched on Tuesday.

Army’s Srinagar-based Chinar Corps said in a post on X that following intelligence inputs, a joint operation was launched by the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and other agencies in Kokernag’s Kazwan forest.

“The operation continued overnight,” the Army said in the morning. A few hours later, it announced the death of the soldier. “Chinar Corps honours the supreme sacrifice of Hilal Ahmad Bhat in the line of duty,” it said.

Sources told The Tribune that two Army personnel of the 162 Battalion came face to face with militants during a reconnaissance mission in the forest. While one of them managed to escape and reported back at his unit, the other was allegedly abducted. The security forces launched a search operation, which led to the recovery of the body. “The operation is underway to hunt down the militants,” said a senior police officer.

This is not the first time that militants have abducted Army soldiers in the Valley. In 2022, Sameer Ahmad Malla was abducted in central Kashmir and his body was recovered three days later. In 2020, Territorial Army’s Shakir Manzoor Wagay was picked up from Shopian and his body was found a year later in an orchard.