SOURCE: INDIA TODAY
An audio clip has surfaced online purportedly of terrorists who have abducted a solider in Kulgam district of south Kashmir. Rifleman Shakir Manzoor of 162 Battalion (Territorial Army), went missing on August 2 and his vehicle was found abandoned and burnt in south Kashmir’s Kulgam, an Army spokesperson said.
It is suspected that the soldier, a resident of neighbouring Shopian district, has been abducted by militants, the spokesperson said. According to the audio clip, terrorists talk about the solider being killed and his body buried. Militants say that due to coronavirus, they don’t want to return the body.
This seems to be in retaliation to security forces burying bodies of killed militants at remote locations. No official has confirmed the authenticity of the audio.
Some days back, the missing soldier’s clothes were found at an orchard, forcing security forces to launch a fresh operation.
It is not the first time that soldiers who had been visiting their families in Kashmir have been targeted by terrorists. There have been several such instances in the past few years.
In May 2017, terrorists kidnapped young Army officer Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz when he was attending a family wedding in Shopian. His bullet-riddled body of was found the next day. Another soldier Aurangzeb was abducted and killed in 2018 when he was going home to Poonch for spending time with his family.
