Well-known election strategist and founder of the Jan Suraj Party, Prashant Kishor, was admitted to a hospital in Patna. His health worsened after four days of fasting while staging a fast unto death protest at Gandhi Maidan starting 2 January demanding cancellation of the BPSC preliminary examinations over irregularities allegations.
On Monday, police dispersed Kishor's fast, taking him into custody. First, Kishor refused the conditional bail offered to him; however, the court granted unconditional bail and ordered his release from jail on Monday night.
Candidates have been protesting against the BPSC examinations for the past two weeks over the controversy surrounding the examinations. Protesters have alleged irregularities in the conduct of the exams and demanded their cancellation and re-conduct. Despite mounting pressure, the government has not taken any action so far, which is leaving candidates increasingly frustrated.
Kishor's fast-unto-death was to add voice for these candidates demanding their needs. However, during the protest, his health started to decline; therefore, police had to intervene and break his demonstration.
After his arrest, Prashant Kishor was charged with staging an illegal protest and was produced before the court. Despite a warning from the court to refrain from such activities, Kishor refused conditional bail and was detained in Bureau Central Jail for some time. After his unconditional bail, Kishor criticized the police's behavior.
Kishor alleged that he was not even given proper information from the police after the protest got dispersed. According to him, he was detained in a police vehicle from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. and kept moving from place to place without proper documentation. Moreover, Kishor said he was not formally taken to jail, which added to the issue of procedural lapses.
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