J&K students outside state told to contact liaison officers

JAMMU:The Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday said its liaison officers (LOs) in various states were in constant touch with the local administration and college authorities to ensure that students from the state were not put to any inconvenience following the Pulwama terror attack.

“The state administration is advising students and their parents not to pay heed to any rumours, try to stay put at their respective places and contact the LOs or local police for any help. The mobile numbers of LOs have already been distributed amongst students,” a state government spokesman said.

He said in the aftermath of Lethpora incident, there had been reports of alleged harassment of students from J&K studying outside the state.

The spokesman said the J&K government had already appointed liaison officers in six regions the country — Delhi NCR- Meerut, Jaipur-Bhopal, Chandigarh, Aligarh, Bengaluru and Pune — in order to coordinate with state students studying in and around these regions.

The students had been advised to get in touch with the LOs in case they face any problem, he said. Some of the LOs had already met college authorities for building better coordination, the spokesman added.

He said there had been media reports of “mischievous WhatsApp chats”, candle marches by local people and alleged rumours of some landlords asking students from J&K to vacate the houses in these regions, resulting in a sense of insecurity and fear among them.

“The LOs of have been taking necessary steps to help the students. Control rooms and helplines have also been established in the office of the divisional commissioner, Kashmir,” he added.

The spokesman said following the intervention of the Chandigarh LO, 104 students of Maharaishi Narkendeshwar Mullana University, Ambala, had been accommodated in three hostels, which were being well guarded

by police.

The Chandigarh LO had also spoken to the director of Ganpati Institute, Bilaspur, who had assured safety and police protection to students, he said.

Some students from Dehradun reached Delhi on Sunday and they had been accommodated in J&K House, Chanakyapuri, in the national capital, the spokesman said. He said around 100 students from Sailakui (Dehradun) had gathered in Rampur locality of Uttarakhand capital and the SHO and CO concerned had assured them safety and security.

The LO in Jaipur had confirmed that the situation in Pacific University, Udaipur, was normal and students had been advised not venture out of the campus, he added.