Cop goes missing with rifle, suspected to have deserted police

In the third such case since the last few months, a policeman is suspected to have deserted the force and is believed to have fled with the rifle of his colleague.
Riyaz Ahmad, a driver in the Police Department and posted at Rainawari Police Station in old city, has not reported for work since yesterday, a police official said today.
A service rifle of one of the constables at the police station was also missing.
"Riyaz, who was working as a driver, might have fled with the rifle as we have not been able to contact him since yesterday," the official said, adding efforts have been launched to nab him.

This is the third incident of a cop deserting the force with official weapons in the past few months.
Last month, a policeman posted with SDPO Bijbehara decamped with four rifles from a police establishment in the south Kashmir Anantnag district and joined the militants ranks.
While police has recovered the three of the rifles from the cop's accomplices, the deserter is still on the run.
In October last year, a PSO of then Minister for Roads and Buildings Altaf Bukhari decamped with his service rifles to join the militants.