Following reports that a Kashmiri student who was studying in an engineering college based in Dehradun has joined a terror outfit, Uttarakhand police have stepped up vigilance on the students from other States, particularly from restive Jammu and Kashmir.

Taking a serious note of the development, the State police headquarters have sought details of the students from other states studying here. Furthermore, the district police chiefs have been asked to ensure that verification of all students belonging to other States is done in a proper manner.

The Additional Director General (ADG) law and order, Ashok Kumar said while talking to The Pioneer on Tuesday that the police are in touch with the central agencies on the issue.

He said that Dehradun being an education hub, a large number of students from other States, including Jammu and Kashmir, study in many colleges and universities located here. “The State police are regularly doing their verification,” he said.

Notably, Shoeb Ahmed Lone (21), a resident of Kulgam district of Kashmir valley, had taken admission in Dehradun- based Alpine Institute of Management and Technology (AIMT) in 2016. The fifth semester B.Tech Information Technology (IT) student had created ripples recently when Kashmir police confirmed his having joined the ranks of the dreaded terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.

Lone had left Dehradun for Srinagar on September 20,  but he had not gone home. His family members had learnt that he had joined a terror organisation when his photographs were circulated on the social media platforms. Incidentally, Shoeb Lone’s father, too, was a militant who was gunned down by the security forces. He was brought up by his mother who has appealed to her son on social media to come back.