E-Paper
Armyman on leave goes missing from J&K’s Budgam
Sameer Malla, who is a part of Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry and was posted at Jammu, had left his home at Lokipora Budgam on Monday afternoon and did not return since then
An armyman on leave went missing from his home in central Kashmir’s Budgam district on Monday, his relatives said, who fear that he might have been abducted by militants.
Sameer Malla, who is a part of Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry and was posted at Jammu, had left his home at Lokipora Budgam on Monday afternoon and did not return since then.
“It has been two days now that we have not heard from Sameer. His phone is switched off,” said Habibullah Malik, who says he is the soldier’s uncle.
A senior army officer said that police are dealing with the issue and looking for his whereabouts as the soldier was on leave.
Comments of Budgam SSP Tahir Saleem, however, couldn’t be elicited despite repeated attempts.
Malla, in his 20s, had come home on leave along with his pregnant wife on February 19 for the delivery of their second child.
On Monday, he had brought his elder son, who is two-and-a-half years old, from his in-laws house.
“Around 1.30pm, he left home after having lunch. Normally, he would take his car for even shorter distances, but this time he left on foot,” said Malik.
He said around 3.30pm, his mother had called him to know his whereabouts.
“He told his mother that his phone battery had drained and he won’t be able to use it for long. He told her that he was with a friend, who is a retired armyman, at Khag. However, we later came to know through his last phone location that he was 5km away at Surash,” said his uncle.
Malik said they were not ruling out the possibility of him being abducted by militants.
