A constable, who was part of the security cover of an officer injured in a militant attack last month, has decamped with four AK assault rifles from Bijbehara in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.
Constable Mashooq Ahmad failed to report for duties at the office of SDPO Bijbehara for two days, raising suspicion about his activities, a police official said.
During the inspection of the police station premises, four assault rifles were found missing. It is suspected that the constable took the rifles with him, the police official said, adding an alert has been sounded in south Kashmir area to trace the "deserter".
Mashooq, a resident of Shopian district, was part of the security cover of DSP Irshad Ahmad, who was injured in a militant attack at Bijbehara on December 24.
Police have also not ruled out the constable's involvement in the attack on the officer, which had also left another cop injured.
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Police said three youths from Shopian have been reported missing since January 12 and are believed to have joined militant ranks along with the "deserter" cop.
The three youths, in their late teens or early twenties, were reported missing from Shopian, the hometown of the constable, a police official said.
A case under sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant) and 380 (theft in dwelling house) of the RPC and section 7/25 of the Arms Act has been registered against Ahmad, the police official said.
