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Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh on Monday said that the protest that took place in the Gandhi Maidan area by Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor and others against the alleged Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exam paper leak was illegal and that an FIR had been lodged against them in this regard.
According to the Patna DM, the demonstration was held in front of the Gandhi statue at Gandhi Maidan, which is a restricted area. He stated that the administration had earlier issued a notice to the protestors to move to a designated protest site at Gardanibagh. Despite multiple requests and adequate time given to the group to vacate the area, the protestors remained at the site. "Jan Suraaj Party's Prashant Kishor and some other people were illegally protesting in front of the Gandhi statue in the restricted area of Gandhi Maidan, Patna, for their five-point demands. The administration had issued a notice to move from there to the designated place, Gardanibagh, for the protest," Singh said. "An FIR was lodged at Gandhi Maidan PS for illegally protesting in the restricted area. Even after repeated requests and giving sufficient time, the place was not vacated," he added. The Patna DM further confirmed that Kishor, along with some of his supporters, was detained and would be presented before the court as per legal procedure. "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," Singh said. RJD leader Mrityunjay Tiwari accused the Jan Suraaj Chief of working hand in glove with the state government in what he termed was a VIP protest. "It was a VIP protest, where he (Prashant Kishor) was trying to gain by politicising and using aspirants ...All this drama was being done in the protection fo the govt. If Gandhi Maidan was a restricted area, why he was not removed from there earlier? It was a government-sponsored protest. Tejashwi Yadav is there and he will continue to raise the issues of aspirants," the RJD spokesperson said. Earlier, the Jan Suraaj chief was detained by the Patna Police in the early hours of Monday and was transported in an ambulance by the police. Additionally, Patna Police had also vacated the place at Gandhi Maidan where the Jan Suraaj chief was sitting on a fast-unto-death with the protestors. Patna Police also conducted the checking of the vehicles leaving from the Gandhi Maidan. Kishor had been observing the hunger strike since January 2, supporting students demanding the cancellation of the BPSC exam following allegations of a question paper leak. Meanwhile, following Kishor's arrest, tensions escalated in the area as a clash broke out between police and supporters of Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor. Kishor's arrest triggered widespread condemnation from his supporters, who accused the government of attempting to silence the protest out of fear of the unity Kishor had fostered among the masses. On supporter told ANI, ""The spectacles of Prashant Kishor were thrown when he was being detained. When I went to take it, I was injured and they abused me. We have no idea where Prashant ji has been taken." Another supporter accused the police of high handed tactics, ""He did not do anything illegal. He sat at one place and did Satyagraha. The government is scared because of him. No one knows where police took him. We are protesting against this, at least inform us where he has been taken." (ANI)
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