SOURCE: ENS
Five days after a Territorial Army soldier went missing in Kashmir, his family has found his clothes in an orchard near their house, and has appealed to militants to hand his body over if he has been killed. On August 2, Shakir Mazoor Wagay, 24, went missing after he left his home at Harmain in south Kashmir’s Shopian district.
On Friday morning, Shakir’s father Manzoor Ahmad Wagay, while searching for his son, found his clothes in an orchardnear their house.“His clothes were torn and there were stains of blood on the ground,” Manzoor told The Indian Express. Manzoor informed the Army about Shakir’s clothes in the orchard, and an Army team immediately arrived with sniffer dogs.
“I know my son was a soldier. I appeal to the Mujahideen to forgive him, if they can… If they can’t forgive him, please give his body back to us. That is our right,” Manzoor said.
On the day of his abduction, Shakir, who had been posted at the Army’s Balpora camp, was allowed to leave the camp with official mail. He had then visited his home and left in his personal car.
Manzoor said his son called him soon after leaving. “He (Shakir) told me that a friend has met him on the way and it would take him an hour. He was hinting to me that he has been abducted,” Manzoor said. “I later came to know that his vehicle was stopped less than a km away from home and some people had boarded it.”
On Sunday evening, Shakir’s car was found abandoned and burnt at Kulgam’s Nehama village, some 16 km from where he was abducted. The family says they have no information about what happened after that.
Army sources said the searches for Shakir are continuing.
