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Two jawans disappear

NEW DELHI: Two Indian soldiers who disappeared at the end of a joint exercise in the U.S. have been declared “absent without leave.” They will be declared deserters if they do not turn themselves in after 30 days, said sources at the Army Headquarters here.

The soldiers had left the U.S. army base in California on March 20 but the Army’s admission came after a report to this effect appeared on Friday. The men from the 1/1 Gorkha battalion were part of a 100-plus Army contingent that went to the U.S. on March 8 to participate in “Exercise Shatrujeet.”

Sanjay and Subhash Thapa were with the contingent till the last day of the exercise. The rest of the contingent returned home two days later. The duo’s action is suspected to be a case of illegal migration.

Searches by the Indian and U.S. Army officials have failed to locate the soldiers. A further search has been organised by the Indian Embassy along with U.S. authorities.

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