SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against a soldier from South Kashmir’s Tral after a video surfaced online in which he makes explosive claims regarding the April 22 Pahalgam massacre that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The soldier, identified as Dilhair Mushtaq Sofi of 29 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), has been missing from duty since March 2025.
A video of an Indian Army soldier, accusing the central government of the Pahalgam terrorist attack, is going viral on social media.#PIBFactCheck
✅The soldier seen in the video is a deserter and has not been present at his duty since March 2025, nor has he been in contact… pic.twitter.com/6xF3HNPUYJ
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 14, 2025
The Press Information Bureau (PIB), in a statement issued through its fact-checking wing, dismissed the video as fake and said that Mushtaq is a deserter. “A video of an Indian army soldier, accusing the central government of the Pahalgam terrorist attack, is going viral on social media. The soldier seen in the video is a deserter and has not been present at his duty since March 2025, nor has been in contact with his family,” the PIB statement read, warning citizens not to fall for such content.
Mushtaq, a resident of Tral in Pulwama district, had been injured in December 2024, when militants fired upon him while he was home on leave.
Following the circulation of the minute long clip, Jammu and Kashmir Police confirmed that a missing person’s report filed on March 11 regarding Mushtaq has now been converted into an FIR. “The video, verified by his father and uncle, prompted the registration of an FIR,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.
The FIR has been filed at Ganderbal police station under sections 197(D) and 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which pertain to statements prejudicial to national integration and acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
Police further stated that a preliminary inquiry has revealed the soldier may have been involved in online gambling and had accumulated debts exceeding Rs 10 lakh. “Investigation has been initiated into all aspects of the case,” the police added.
