Srinagar, Feb 2 (IANS): A soldier returning to duty after a holiday went missing in J&K’s Anantnag district, officials said on Sunday.

Officials said that the rifleman Abid Bhat left his home in Chittergul village in Anantnag district to report to duty at Rangreth in Srinagar on Saturday. However, the soldier did not report at the camp till Sunday morning after which a missing persons complaint was lodged with the police.

Rifleman Abid Bhat had spent his holiday at home and was expected to return to his posting at Rangreth, a military camp in Srinagar. However, he failed to report for duty by Saturday.

Concerned by his absence, military officials filed a missing persons complaint with local police and started an investigation.

“The soldier left his residence in Chittergul on Saturday, but did not arrive at his designated camp as expected,” an official confirmed.

He added that a complaint has been registered and is actively looking for the missing soldier.

In the past, some soldiers on leave have been abducted by militants and later some of them were also killed.

On October 9, 2024, the bullet-ridden body of a Territorial Army (TA) soldier, who had been abducted by terrorists in Anantnag, was found by security forces. This incident marked the latest in a series of abductions involving soldiers in Kashmir.

Earlier, in August 2023, a soldier went missing from his home in Kulgam district while on leave but was later found by the police.

In 2019, another soldier, Yasin Bhat, narrowly escaped a kidnapping attempt at his home in Qazipora, Budgam.

Over the past nine years, more than five soldiers have been abducted and killed in various parts of Kashmir, with the majority of incidents occurring in the Shopian and Kulgam districts of south Kashmir.