Mughalsarai: Ten Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers went missing from a special Army train between Bardhaman and Dhanbad railway stations. The Army Special train, ferrying 83rd Bengal battalion of BSF jawans from Murshidabad in West Bengal, was headed towards Jammu on Wednesday, say media reports. It halted at Bardaman and Dhanbad stations. After departing from these stations, a headcount revealed that ten soldiers were missing. Officers were informed and an FIR lodged by their commander at the Government Railway Police (GRP) in Mughalsarai stating the jawans were “absent without leave.” (Also read: Army Chief Calls UN Report ‘Motivated’)
“Eighty-three BSF jawans were going to Jammu and Kashmir in a special train. Out of them, ten went missing somewhere in between Dhanbad and Bardhaman without informing their commander. We have filed an absconding report and have started investigating the matter,” Jitendra Kumar Yadav, Sub Inspector, GRP Mughalsarai said, as reported by ANI.
The incident came to light the same day as the report of a Special Police Officer (SPO) going missing in Pampore, J-K. According to ANI, SPO Irfan Ahmad Dhar had an AK-47 the last he was seen. Police had launched a manhunt to track down the missing Kakapora, Pulwama, resident. SP Awantipora, Muhammad Zahid Malik, confirmed that the SPO was missing since Tuesday evening. According to DNA reports, Hizbul-Mujahideen had claimed that Dhar who was earlier reported missing with an AK-47 rifle, had joined its ranks.
