Srinagar, April 10: The Mehbooba Mufti-led Jammu and Kashmir government today detained actor Anupam Kher at Srinagar airport as he arrived to meet students of the controversy-hit National Institute of Technology here and later forced him to board a return flight.

Sources said the authorities didn't want the issue to be politicised further since local and outstation students at the NIT clashed over India's loss to the West Indies in a T20 World Cup match last month. Some Kashmiri students had cheered the West Indies, the eventual champions.#

Also prevented from entering the state were dozens of activists of the Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena (BSKS) who too wanted to meet the NIT students. The activists, who shouted slogans like " Bharat Mata ki jai", were stopped on the border with Punjab.

Police sources said Kher was detained soon after he landed early today and was sent back on a return flight in the afternoon. "We had orders from the chief minister's office to push him (Kher) back," a police officer said.

Kher related the developments in a series of tweets. "Landed in Srinagar. 'HOME' away from home. Will go to NIT students & meet the students & give them a warm hug & a special gift," he tweeted early in the day.

After being stopped at the airport, he tweeted: "I have been told by J&K police that I cannot enter Srinagar city at all. I have asked them to show me the orders. Still at the airport."

#As it became clear to him that he wouldn't be allowed to meet the students, he tweeted: "Dear NIT Srinagar students: Your courage has been Loud & Clear. Now show victory with your exam results. I send you my love from the airport."

The Kashmiri-origin actor later thanked the police for the hospitality they had extended at the airport. "As I return from Srinagar airport, my heart is heavy but I have hope that things will change & become better. I remain an eternal optimist," he tweeted.

A police official said the BSKS activists reached the border last night and went back at 8 this morning after a sit-in.