BPSC Exam Protest: Prashant Kishor Arrested On Fifth Day Of Fast Unto Death In Patna, Supporters Clash With Police

The Jan Suraaj Party said the police has taken Prashant Kishor to AIIMS and he has been isolated from all the people.

Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor, who has been on a fast unto death to press the demand for cancellation of a BPSC exam, was arrested in the early hours of Monday. Patna police cleared the place in Gandhi Maidan where Kishor was on the hunger strike.

The Jan Suraaj Party said the police has taken Prashant Kishor to AIIMS. "He has been isolated from all the people. Prashant Kishor has refused to undergo any treatment and has continued his hunger strike," the party said.

Visuals surfaced on social media show a police team trying to take Prashant Kishor away, as his supporters stop them. The supporters also clashed with police.

The Jan Suraaj founder has been fast unto death since Thursday to press for the demand for cancellation of the integrated 70th combined (preliminary) competitive test conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) on December 13.

Prashant Kishor Will Be Presented Before Court: DM

Patna District Magistrate Dr Chandrashekhar Singh said Prashant Kishor and some other people were illegally protesting in front of the Gandhi statue in the restricted area of Gandhi Maidan for their five-point demands. The administration had issued a notice to move from there to the designated place Gardanibagh for the protest.

"An FIR was lodged at Gandhi Maidan Police Station for illegally protesting in the restricted area. Even after repeated requests and giving sufficient time, the place was not vacated. Today, he has been detained along with some supporters. They are completely healthy. They will be presented before the court as per the prescribed procedure," he added. 

BPSC had ordered the retest for a select group of candidates who had appeared in the December 13 exam, which was embroiled over allegations of question paper leak. The retest was held on Saturday at 22 centres here.

The re-exam took place at 22 centres in Patna. Out of a total of 12,012 candidates, around 8,111 aspirants had downloaded their admit cards. However, 5,943 students appeared for the retest on Saturday. The retest was held peacefully at all centres without report of any misconduct and malpractices, the BPSC said in a statement issued on Saturday.