Prashant Kishor alleges police detained JSP supporters ahead of Bankipur bypoll
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Photo: ANI
Patna: Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor on Thursday alleged that Bihar Police detained several of his supporters ahead of polling for the Bankipur Assembly bypoll, claiming the action was carried out at the behest of the ruling BJP, which he alleged feared defeat in the election.
Kishor, who is making his electoral debut from the Bankipur constituency, staged a sit-in with party workers at the Jakkanpur police station after claiming that more than 16 supporters had been taken into custody. He alleged that police officials failed to disclose where they were being held and said there was no official record indicating that they had been arrested or booked in any case, NDTV reported.
According to Kishor, he had gone to the Jakkanpur police station after receiving information that the detained supporters were being held there. However, he claimed that police informed him they had been shifted to different police stations, while the station house officer denied any involvement in the detentions and allegedly attributed the action to directions from senior officials.
The former election strategist further alleged that the SHO threatened him and his supporters, claiming the officer said he would "deal with them" after removing his uniform. Following a heated exchange at the police station, Kishor warned that the officer would be held accountable if any harm came to the detained supporters.
Kishor alleged that the BJP was orchestrating the detentions to influence the bypoll outcome. He claimed the ruling party was aware of an impending defeat and had devised a plan to keep his supporters in custody until polling concluded, taking advantage of the provision allowing police to detain a person for up to 24 hours before producing them before a magistrate.
He also accused the ruling NDA of misusing the administrative machinery, while asserting that such measures would not secure victory despite the alliance deploying a large number of its legislators for the campaign.
The Bankipur bypoll has 26 candidates in the fray, though the main contest is widely seen as being between Kishor and BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha.
Kishor said he chose to remain at the police station to draw attention to what he described as the police's lack of professionalism. He further alleged that the SHO attempted to intimidate party workers by threatening to implicate one of them under the prohibition law, and said his party would seek action against the officials concerned after the bypoll concluded.