Three Civilians Go Missing En Route To Attend Marriage In Kathua; Forces Launch Manhunt

Kathua: Three civilians have gone missing in the Lohai Malhar area of Kathua after they left home to attend a marriage in the Billawar area. Twenty-four hours after the trio went missing, there is no clue about their whereabouts with the Jammu and Kashmir Police. However, the police have ruled out the terror angle in the investigation so far.

Locals of the area informed Republic World that three individuals went missing at around 8:30 PM yesterday when a marriage party was going from Dehota village of Billawar to Surag village of Lohai Malhar. Those missing have been identified as Jogesh Singh from Marhoon village, who is 35 years old, Darshan Singh from Dehota village, aged 40 years, and Baroon Singh from Dehota, aged 14 years old, of Billawar tehsil of the district.

An official in the Jammu and Kashmir Police informed Republic World that the incident came to light yesterday, and soon after the incident, searches were launched to trace the missing individuals. “We are looking into every possible angle, but for now, we are ruling out the terror angle. We are investigating how they went missing midway when they left with everyone else. We are also tracking their mobile numbers so that we can get an idea about their last location,” the official said.

Another official, whom Republic World spoke to, has also denied the terror angle in the first 24 hours of investigation and said that the child who is missing is not a relative of the two who are also missing. “Teams of SOG and the Indian Army are currently searching the area from where they went missing so that we can get some clue about their whereabouts and find them,” he added.