Patna:
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor, who was on Monday arrested for an “illegal” fast unto death and then released on “unconditional” bail, has been taken to a hospital in Patna after his health deteriorated last night.
Mr Kishor was arrested from Patna’s Gandhi Maidan early Monday morning, in pursuance of a case against him last week for holding ‘Aamaran anshan’ (fast unto death) at Gandhi Maidan, in violation of a Patna High Court order that forbids any such demonstration at a place other than Gardani Bagh locality in the city.
Mr Kishor, who was an election strategist before he plunged into politics full-time, was on an indefinite fast since January 2 to back the civil service aspirants who have been demanding the cancellation of the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examination, which was held in December last year.
He was produced before a Patna court Monday afternoon, which granted him bail with the condition that, he claimed, he must give a written undertaking not to take part in any “illegal” protest in future.
Mr Kishor and his legal team held that the condition was tantamount to “admitting guilt” and he was then remanded to judicial custody. He was later released by the authorities in the evening.
Prashant Kishor On Why He Rejected Bail
Speaking to reporters outside the court last evening, Prashant Kishor explained why he refused to sign a bail bond.
“I was taken to the court and I was granted bail but in the bail order it was mentioned that I should not do any wrongdoings, so I rejected it and I accepted to go to jail,” he said.
He also narrated the sequence of events of Monday morning: “Around 4 am, police reached Gandhi Maidan, where I have been sitting on an indefinite fast unto death for the last five days. They told me that they were detaining me and asked me to go with them. I left with them. Since my supporters were also with me, it’s natural that a minor clash broke out (between them and the police). But by and large, the behaviour of the police was not wrong.”
“After we left Gandhi Maidan, the police didn’t tell me where they were taking me. They took me to AIIMS. I was there for more than an hour. They refused to admit me and I have no idea why. The police then tried to take me to a different hospital but by then a large crowd of my supporters had gathered at the gate of AIIMS. There was again a minor clash at the gate. From there, the behaviour of the police started deteriorating,” he added.
He claimed he was made to sit in the police vehicle from 5 am to 11 am and that they kept taking him to different places.
“They told me they would either take me to PMCH (Patna Medical College and Hospital) or NMCH (Nalanda Medical College and Hospital) but eventually, after five hours, they took me to Fatuha’s community centre. They wanted to conduct my medical test and get a certificate from the doctors there. I refused to give my consent for that because I wasn’t involved in any criminal activity. Police tried to convince the doctors for a certificate but they refused to give any such illegal certificate,” Mr Kishor alleged.
He claimed that the police argued that they had to take a “longer route for crowd management”.
