A massive search operation has been launched after an Indian Army soldier went missing from Kashmir's Kulgam district when he came to visit his family during his leave. According to a PTI report, Javaid Ahmad Wani was missing since Saturday evening but his car was found in Paranhall later. The report stated Wani, a resident of the Achathal area of Kulgam, was posted in the Ladakh region.
According to a Hindustan Times report, his family claimed that the 25-year-old soldier was abducted from his car, however, the police are yet to confirm this. It stated that Wani had gone to purchase groceries from Chowalgam, however, when he did not return home his family began to search for him in the nearby villages and other surrounding areas. The report stated there were bloodstains on his car and that they also found a pair of his slippers.
The case is a haunting reminder of the abduction and murder of Army soldier Sameer Ahmad Malla by the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfit. In March 2022, his body was found in an orchard in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district. Malla, a Territorial Army jawan who was attached to Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry made his last call to his mother while he was in the captivity of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) led by Yusuf Kantoo. Described as one of the oldest surviving terrorists, Kantoo was said to be the mastermind behind the killing of Malla. According to police, the probe narrowed on a local villager Ather Illahi Sheikh who had called Malla for a meeting. It turned out that Sheikh was working for the banned terror outfit.
Sheikh confessed that in early March the terror outfit including Kantoo stayed at his house for the night before the crime.
The next day Army jawan Sameer Ahmad Malla was called by the said terrorist associate Sheikh to his residence from where he was abducted by the four and then taken to the place where Malla’s remains were recovered.
After killing Malla, Sheikh got a shovel from his house which was used to bury the body. The shovel was also recovered by the investigating team. Malla, who was on leave, had gone missing from his home in the Khag area of Budgam on March 7 and his body was recovered on March 10.