PATNA: Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor, who was arrested for illegally staging a fast-unto-death protest at Gandhi Maidan in the state capital in the early hours on Monday, was granted unconditional bail just a few hours after being sent to 14-day judicial custody.
After being granted unconditional bail, Kishor told reporters that the court had earlier granted him bail on a personal bond of Rs 25,000 and also imposed a condition with the bail bond that he could not participate in protests that disrupted law and order.
He said that he refused to fill the bail bond and accept the bail condition by arguing that it was his fundamental right to protest and requested the court to remove the condition, which was rejected by the judge.
He said that his advocate, however, re-argued the case in the court, which granted him unconditional bail in the final order.
Kishor said that the police had taken him to Beur Model Central Jail in the state capital to imprison him, but they could not do so as they did not possess the requisite papers.
He said that in the government, some officers were trying to become heroes, but the court demonstrated the presence of the rule of law in the state.
"The court's order also validates our stand that staging a protest at Gandhi Maidan peacefully is not against the law," he said, adding that he would announce the venue and date for carrying out his fast-unto-death protest.
He said that they would also move Patna High Court for redressal of grievances for BPSC candidates in light of irregularities committed in Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC)`s PT examination and alleged that fraud worth Rs 1000 crore had taken place in it.
Around 4 am, police arrested former poll strategist Prashant Kishor, who started his fast-unto-death in support of candidates demanding the cancellation of the 70th combined competitive preliminary examination and re-test in view of allegations of a question paper leak and other irregularities.
The Patna district administration had termed the protest illegal as it was being held in a restricted area.
Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh said that repeated notices were issued, asking Kishor and his supporters to relocate the demonstration to Gardanibagh, the designated protest site.
In the pre-dawn crackdown, Kishor and his 42 supporters were taken into custody even as 15 vehicles were also seized at Gandhi Maidan.
His vanity van was also seized and taken to the district transport office. Today (Monday) marked the fifth day of his hunger strike.
Briefing mediapersons about the sequence of events, Kishor said that police picked him from Gandhi Maidan and took him to AIIMS, but the hospital administration refused to admit him as the police did not have the required papers.
He added that there was also a scuffle between police and his supporters at AIIMS main gate, adding that the police's behavior was fine until then but deteriorated later.
He also denied that he was slapped by a cop during his arrest from Gandhi Maidan, as earlier claimed by his supporters. He claimed that from 5 am to 11 am, police kept him in an ambulance and took him to different places but did not tell him where they were being taken.
“After 5 hours, the police took me to Fatuha community centre. There, they wanted to get a certificate from the doctors after examining me. I told the doctors that I was not permitting this. I was not doing anything illegal,” he remarked, adding that police tried to get doctors there to provide a certificate but they refused to give an illegal certificate.