Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor, who was sitting on an indefinite hunger strike at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna, was arrested by the Bihar police on Monday morning. Mr Kishor was “forcibly” taken to AIIMS in an ambulance and has been isolated from everyone, sources said.

Mr Kishor has reportedly refused treatment and will continue his fast unto death.

In a video shared by the news agency ANI, a large team of Patna police can be seen trying to remove Mr Kishor from the protest site with his fellow protesters trying to hold him. the police also removed other demonstrators from the site.

#WATCH | BPSC protest | Bihar: Patna Police detains Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor who was sitting on an indefinite hunger strike at Gandhi Maidan pic.twitter.com/cOnoM7EGW1

— ANI (@ANI) January 5, 2025

Mr Kishor, who was an election strategist before he plunged into politics full-time, has been on an indefinite strike since January 2 in support of the protesting students to press the demand for the cancellation of the integrated 70th combined (preliminary) competitive test conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC). The students are demanding the cancellation of the exam due to an alleged paper leak.

The BPSC exam was held on December 13.

The protest site – Gandhi Maidan – is a couple of kilometers from the spot where several candidates have been on a round-the-clock protest for over two weeks.

“I am with these students with all my might… Till this issue is resolved, I’ll be sitting on a fast-unto death. The candidates are protesting in biting cold, braving baton charge by police and water cannons. The Chief Minister is away in Delhi, and having a good time. He did not utter a single word when reporters in the national capital approached him with queries on the stir,” the Jan Suraaj party chief had said.

Earlier, Mr Kishor said that his party would file a petition in the Patna High Court on January 7 regarding the irregularities in the BPSC examination.

“It is not a matter of decision for us whether we will continue this (protest) or not. We will continue doing what we are doing now, there will be no change in it…We (Jan Suraaj Party) will file a petition in the High Court on the 7th,” he said.

‘Vanity Van’ controversy

A controversy erupted on Saturday over a ‘vanity van’, reportedly with many luxury facilities, parked close to Mr Kishor’s protest site. The Jan Suraaj party chief’s rivals pointed at the plush vehicle and questioned him if he was sincere in his protest.

However, Mr Kishor shot back at them, saying that he needed the van to “avoid the press and rivals from making false allegations of breaking the hunger strike if he went home to use the washroom, as they could say he had gone to eat meals”.

“If I don’t go to the bus, people ask if others use the van. Well, if it’s someone else’s house, they can go, they’re not on hunger strike, they can use the bathroom, they can go to the restroom. But I’m on a hunger strike, and if I go home to use the bathroom, journalists will say I went to eat or sleep,” he said.

“Some even said the van costs Rs 4 crore, and rented at a cost of Rs 25 lakh. If that is so, give me that rent. I will use it. How foolish can people be?” Mr Kishor added.

Patna:

Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh has been caught on camera slapping a Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) aspirant who was among a group of students protesting the alleged leak of the exam’s paper. 

A video shows Mr Singh, flanked by police personnel, having an argument with one of the students, gesturing to him to leave and then taking a few steps forward and slapping him –  dislodging his spectacles, which fall on the road. The student is then taken away by the police personnel and Mr Singh is seen shouting at the other protesters.

The protest was being held by students appearing for BPSC’s 70th Integrated Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) at the Bapu Examination Centre at Kumhrar in Patna on Friday. 

Nearly 400 candidates boycotted the exam, alleging that the question paper was leaked on social media. 

BPSC chairman Parmar Ravi Manubhai, however, dismissed the allegation and said some of the students snatched the question paper from the invigilator and ran away. He pointed out that the exam was conducted peacefully at all the other over 900 centres in the state and that the commission had not received any complaint claiming that the paper had been leaked. 

The protesting students said many candidates did not get the question paper or the OMR (Optical Mark Recognition) sheet for over 15 minutes after the exam started. 

“Some people got the paper 10 minutes late. Many people did not get the paper at all and some others had the paper snatched from them 10 minutes after they got it. Our room was locked,” an aspirant told news agency ANI. 

“In hall number 3 on the second floor, papers were not given till 12.45 pm (45 minutes after the exam began). Some teachers threatened us… They are playing with our future,” said another student. 

Other aspirants said some of them were told by the invigilators that the question papers were being photocopied and they should wait patiently.

‘Will Take Action’  

Addressing a press conference,  BPSC Chairman Parmar Ravi Manubhai said there was no leak and action would be taken against people involved in the “conspiracy” fuelling rumours of a paper leak. 

Pointing out that 5 lakh candidates had appeared for the exam and there were no complaints from 911 other centres, Mr Manubhai said, “There was no leak. We have not received any complaint. Some students snatched the question paper from the invigilator and ran away. They then came outside and caused a commotion.”

“Action will be taken against those who disrupted the commission’s exam. CCTV footage is being examined and the district magistrate will also submit a report,” he added.