Three civilians missing in Kathua; security forces launch search operation

The armed forces launched a massive search operation to trace three civilians, including a teenager, who went missing in the mountainous Billawar area of Kathua district in Jammu.

They were on way to attend a marriage ceremony
The incident took place in the Lohai Malhar village of Billawar tehsil where three civilians - Jogesh Singh, Darshan Singh and teenager Varun Singh - went missing when they were on way to attend a marriage ceremony. They were part of the marriage procession which was scheduled to go from Dehuta village to Lohai Malhar.


J&K Police officials said the investigation and search operation was going on and as of now the incident could not be linked to any "militant act". They said they were also investigating the case of the missing teenager separately.

However, locals in the area said there were reports of "movements of some unknown suspects in the area" earlier this week. They feared that the two incidents might be connected as the missing persons had not been traced for more than 24 hours.

A local said one of the missing persons had called his family to inform them that they were "lost in the mountains", but since then their phones had been switched off.

Matter Raised in Assembly
The BJP legislator from Billawar, Satish Kumar Sharma, raised the issue of the missing persons on the floor of the assembly. "Have spoken to IG Jammu Bhim Sen Tuti over three Hindus from Billawar who have gone missing in Lohai Malhar in Kathua... Have been informed that joint forces are carrying out searches in the area to trace the whereabouts of three civilians, including a minor, and senior officials from Jammu are en route incident site," said Sharma, who is also the leader of the Opposition in the J&K assembly.