BPSC Exam Row: Jan Suraaj party chief Prashant Kishor was arrested during an indefinite hunger strike at Gandhi Maidan seeking cancellation of 70th BPSC prelims exam.

Jan Suraaj chairman Prashant Kishor was placed under 14 days of judicial custody on Monday for refusing to post bail. When he declined to provide a surety bond for the bail, the court issued the order.

Kishor demanded that a Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) test be cancelled in order to continue his fast till death while incarcerated. He was taken into custody by the Patna police earlier in the day.

A huge crowd could be seen gathering at the time when Kishor was produced in the court in Patna.(Santosh Kumar)

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According to a senior police officer, Kishor and his supporters were removed from the protest site as the demonstration was being held near a restricted area, making it "illegal."

Kishor was arrested on the fifth day of his protest over an alleged question paper leak in the December 13 examination conducted by Bihar PSC.

According to Jan Suraaj party's supporters, police took Kishor to Patna AIIMS for a medical examination. They also alleged that security personnel manhandled and slapped Kishor while taking him into custody. Patna District Magistrate (DM) Chandrashekhar Singh said, "Yes, Kishor and his supporters, who were on a dharna at Gandhi Maidan, were arrested by police on Monday morning. They will be produced before a court."

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The DM said their demonstration was "illegal" as they were holding it near the restricted site. "Despite repeated requests by the officials, they did not leave the place. They had also been served a notice by the district administration to shift their dharna to Gardani Bagh, the dedicated place for holding protests," the DM said.

Police personnel were put on standby to prevent any untoward incident.(Santosh Kumar)

Regarding allegations of manhandling, the DM said, "Kishor was not manhandled by security personnel. Police only removed supporters who tried to prevent his arrest."

The Jan Suraaj chief had earlier said that the party would file a petition in the High Court on January 7 over BPSC irregularities.(Santosh Kumar)

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