BPSC protests: Hours after arrest, fasting Prashant Kishor granted bail without conditions

Kishor has been fasting since January 2 under Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at Gandhi Maidan in support of protesting Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) aspirants, who have been demanding the cancellation of the BPSC prelims held last month.

He said he would continue his fast in jail and that he would not seek bail as its conditions would require him to not engage in any protest.

Police said Kishor was arrested for conducting his fast at Gandhi Maidan, where protests are prohibited according to authorities.

Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh told The Indian Express, “Police have arrested Kishor and detained 43 others, mainly protesting BPSC students.” While the students were later released from police custody, Kishor was taken to AIIMS, Patna, and later to a community health centre for a check-up.

BPSC protest: Patna Police detains Prashant Kishor, vacates Gandhi Maidan

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Subsequently, he was produced before court, where he refused conditional bail. Just before he was being taken to jail from the court, Kishor told reporters, “Our campaign has been against the lathi culture of the Nitish Kumar-BJP government. My fast-unto-death will continue from inside jail. As long as the state government does not order BPSC prelims re-test, this protest will continue.”

Kishor’s lawyer, Shivanand Giri, said, “Accepting bail conditions would mean that Kishor was accepting his offence. Protests and dharna are one’s democratic right. We will discuss our next course of legal action later.”

Meanwhile, protesting BPSC students returned to their designated protest site at Gardanibagh, where a group of students had already been protesting.

A Jan Suraaj party source said, “The protest will gather momentum after Kishor’s arrests. More students from across the state are likely to join the protest in the coming days.”

Two days before he began his fast last week, Kishor had issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led government to resolve the matter, failing which the protests would be intensified.

A day before that, police had used water cannons and resorted to lathi charge to disperse protesters who tried to break through barricades set up to stop them from going towards the Chief Minister’s residence.

Hundreds of candidates who had appeared for the BPSC prelims, conducted on December 13 at 912 centres across Bihar, have been protesting in Patna since December 18, calling for the cancellation of the exam, alleging that CCTV cameras and jammers had not been functional at several examination centres and that question papers had been distributed late at some locations.

The BPSC has so far agreed to reschedule the exam only for those who took it at one centre in Patna, where an exam official died of heart attack amid ruckus.