An army soldier on leave has gone missing from his native Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir leading to security forces launching a massive search and rescue operation, officials said on Sunday.

The father of the soldier, posted in the Ladakh region, said he was supposed to join work on Sunday.

Javaid Ahmad Wani, a resident of Achathal area of Kulgam district, went missing on Saturday evening. His car was found at Paranhall, they said.

His father has appealed to those who might have abducted the soldier to release him alive since he was the only breadwinner of the family.

"I appeal to all the brothers to let him go alive. If he has troubled anyone, I apologise for that. If they want I will get him to quit his job as well," Mohammad Ayoub Wani told reporters.

Wani said his son had gone out to buy meat on Saturday evening as he was to go back to his place of posting on Sunday.

"He told his brother to drop him at the airport tomorrow (Sunday). Sometime later, we got a call that his car was found abandoned with its doors ajar," the father said.

Eyewitnesses claim that there were blood marks in the car but officials did not confirm it.

Police have conducted raids across Kulgam district and adjoining areas to rescue the soldier.

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