His family had appealed to him to "shun violence" and "come back".
A picture of a missing college student wielding a gun with an ISIS flag in the background has surfaced on social media, triggering concerns that he has joined the terrorist outfit. The student at Sharda University, a private university in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida, disappeared on October 28, days after allegedly being beaten up by a group of students on the campus.
The 19-year-old was pursuing a bachelor's degree in radiology and imaging technology at the university.
A six-minute audio has been released on social media in which he is heard announcing that he has joined Islamic State of Jammu and Kashmir and that he accepts ISIS chief Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi as his leader. The audio, carried with an image of the teenager donning a black dress and turban with the ISIS flag in the background, has gone viral.
However, the Uttar Pradesh police maintains that it cannot say if he has indeed joined ISIS.
"We cannot certify if the video is fake or morphed, and if he has become a terrorist," Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police OP Singh said at a press conference in Lucknow.
The student is a resident of downtown Srinagar. His parents released a video urging have him to shun the path of violence. His mother appealed to him to return home and requested "any group" which may have kept him to release him.
His father said that Islam doesn't allow anyone to disobey one's parents.
"Islam does not allow anybody to disobey his parents. I appeal and order you to return home. Seeing you on the social media wherein you have claimed allegiance to the Islamic State has disturbed me. Your ailing mother cannot live without you," he said.
His sister appealed to her brother, saying "I cannot live without you. For Allah's sake, come back."
The police say he has now returned to the mainstream and has renounced weapons and violence.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has said that the possibility of him joining the terrorist outfit was extremely "worrying".
(With inputs from IANS and ANI)