Srinagar (PTI): An army soldier on leave has gone missing from his native Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir leading to security forces launching a massive search and rescue operation, officials said on Sunday.

The father of the soldier, posted in the Ladakh region, said he was supposed to join work on Sunday.

Javaid Ahmad Wani, a resident of Achathal area of Kulgam district, went missing on Saturday evening. His car was found at Paranhall, they said.

His father has appealed to those who might have abducted the soldier to release him alive since he was the only breadwinner of the family.

"I appeal to all the brothers to let him go alive. If he has troubled anyone, I apologise for that. If they want I will get him to quit his job as well," Mohammad Ayoub Wani told reporters.

Wani said his son had gone out to buy meat on Saturday evening as he was to go back to his place of posting on Sunday.

"He told his brother to drop him at the airport tomorrow (Sunday). Sometime later, we got a call that his car was found abandoned with its doors ajar," the father said.

Eyewitnesses claim that there were blood marks in the car but officials did not confirm it.

Police have conducted raids across Kulgam district and adjoining areas to rescue the soldier.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Nagarkurnool (Telangana) (PTI): The search operation to locate the seven persons trapped inside the partially collapsed SLBC tunnel continued for the 25th day on Tuesday.

Personnel from the NDRF, SDRF, state-run miner Singareni Collieries, rat miners, and others intensified the search efforts using the necessary equipment, officials said.

The teams conducted search operations at the 'D1' and 'D2' points, which were identified as possible locations of human presence.

On Monday, cadaver dogs inspected the 'D1' and 'D2' spots.

Rescue personnel continued working to remove parts of the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), which were obstructing the search operation. The excavation process was accelerated with the help of personnel and an excavator, while de-watering efforts continued simultaneously.

The body of Gurpreet Singh, a TBM operator, was recovered on March 9 and handed over to his family in Punjab. Seven others remain trapped inside the tunnel.

A total of eight individuals—including engineers and labourers—were trapped in the SLBC project tunnel when a portion of it collapsed on February 22.