Deoband to admit students only after police gives clearance

Well-known Islamic seminary, Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur has now decided to share documents of aspiring students with the local intelligence unit for "verification and an in-depth scrutiny of their antecedents".

This is being done to ensure that the institution does not get a bad name if some students are found to be indulging in any anti-national activities.

Officiating Vice-Chancellor of the seminary, Abdul Khaliq Madrasi, said, "The seminary will also make other aspects of its admission process more stringent because the seminary has often come under criticism for "harbouring suspicious elements".

"People blame the seminary for the misdeeds of the students, even though the institution's work is restricted to academic activities. To preserve the reputation of the institution, we have decided to get police verification of all new entrants done," he added.