Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor was arrested early this morning, five days after he started an indefinite fast at Patna's Gandhi Maidan.
Police said they removed Mr Kishor and his supporters from the protest site as they were "illegally" holding the demonstration near a restricted area.
#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
"Despite repeated requests by the officials concerned, they did not leave the place. They had also been served notice by the district administration to shift their dharna to Gardani Bagh, the dedicated place for holding protests, in the state capital, "Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh told the news agency PTI.
He was taken to Patna AIIMS for a medical check-up after his arrest.
Gandhi Maidan is a couple of kilometres from the spot where several candidates have been on a round-the-clock protest for about two weeks.
Why Prashant Kishor Was On Indefinite Hunger Strike
Prashant Kishor began his fast unto death on January 2, backing the civil service aspirants who have been demanding the cancellation of the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examination, which was held on December 13 last year.
Photo Credit: PTI
Mr Kishor, who was an election strategist before he plunged into politics full-time, has been actively supporting the protesting candidates, further bringing attention to their demands for a retest of the entire 70th preliminary examination.
He has vowed that the fight would continue regardless of any government action against him.
His political party, Jan Suraaj, is expected to contest in all seats of Bihar in the next assembly election and is banking heavily on support from students.
A retest for a select group of candidates who had appeared in the BPSC exam was held on Saturday.
Out of 12,012 candidates, around 5,900 students appeared for the retest, which took place at 22 centres in Patna.
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