Zahoor Ahmed Tokar

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 6

A Kashmiri Army man deserted his unit in north Kashmir and fled  with arms and ammunition on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.While there is no confirmation whether the jawan, hailing from Sirnoo village in volatile Pulwama district of south Kashmir, has joined militancy, an alert has been sounded. There have been instances in J&K where policemen have joined the militant ranks, but this is the first incident when a Kashmiri soldier has deserted the Army ranks.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Sepoy Zahoor Ahmed Tokar was posted in 173 Territorial Army (Engineering) at Gantmulla Baramulla. He went missing, along with an AK rifle and three magazines. He had been posted at the Gantmulla base since he joined the Army two years ago. Major General AK Singh of the Army’s counter-insurgency unit Kilo Force said the desertion by the jawan was a “one-off incident.”Tokar had visited his home for Eid and joined back after two days. A police officer said, “There is no active militant from Tokar’s village though a few militants are active in the neighbouring villages.” Zahoor Ahmed Tokar Majid Jahangir Tribune News Service Srinagar, July 6 A Kashmiri Army man deserted his unit in north Kashmir and fled  with arms and ammunition on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday. While there is no confirmation whether the jawan, hailing from Sirnoo village in volatile Pulwama district of south Kashmir, has joined militancy, an alert has been sounded. There have been instances in J&K where policemen have joined the militant ranks, but this is the first incident when a Kashmiri soldier has deserted the Army ranks. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Sepoy Zahoor Ahmed Tokar was posted in 173 Territorial Army (Engineering) at Gantmulla Baramulla. He went missing, along with an AK rifle and three magazines. He had been posted at the Gantmulla base since he joined the Army two years ago.  Major General AK Singh of the Army’s counter-insurgency unit Kilo Force said the desertion by the jawan was a “one-off incident.” Tokar had visited his home for Eid and joined back after two days. A police officer said, “There is no active militant from Tokar’s village though a few militants are active in the neighbouring villages.”