8 ‘suspect’ terrorists in Dehradun turn out to be regular college students
The eight “suspicious” men, whose movement in Dehradun on the eve of Republic Day prompted the Uttarakhand Police to sound a high alert in the state, turned out to be students of Doon Bible College.
The entire police machinery of Dehradun, led by SSP Sadanand Date, came on their toes and with the help of local and state intelligence units, a massive manhunt was carried out in Dehradun for nearly 48 hours.
The police alertness can be gauged from the fact that specialized unit “Guldar” (equipped to handle emergency and terror situation) and two companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) were rushed from the Ardh Kumbh duty at Haridwar to beef up the security in Dehradun. Security arrangements at the chief minister’s residence, Parade Ground and other vital installations were increased manifold. Alarmed by the recent arrest of four suspected IS members from Roorkee, the police teams of the entire state were put on alert.
DGP BS Sidhu told TOI, “The alert will continue and our teams will keep a constant vigil near railway stations, bus stations and vital installations.”
Searching for the group of eight “suspicious” men, the police team arrived at Doon Bible College on the Rajpur Road. After looking at the CCTV footage, college principal SB Singh confirmed that the eight seen in the footage were students of the college.
“On any important occasion, our students offer prayers in the church. On the eve of Republic Day, a group of 24 students in three batches of eight students each had gone to pray at St Thomas Church for the well-being of people and the country. While two batches had returned earlier, the third was on way back to the college around 11pm, when their images were captured in a CCTV camera,” the principal said.
