An army trooper on Sunday deserted his unit decamping with three service rifles in the mountainous Doda district of Jammu region.

A senior police officer said that Zafarullah Khan who was working as a soldier with the Territorial Army, and posted in the Doda district, deserted his unit this morning and a manhunt was launched to nab him.

Sources said Khan took away three service rifles from the unit before deserting it. "We are conducting searches in the district to nab him," said the officer.