Bypoll Eve Drama: Prashant Kishor Alleges Supporters Detained, Police Deny

Hours before voting for the crucial bypoll in Bihar's Bankipur constituency, Jan Suraaj Party founder and candidate Prashant Kishor on Thursday night alleged that Bihar Police had detained several of his supporters at the behest of the ruling BJP, which he claimed 'fears losing the bypoll.'

Kishor, making his electoral debut from the seat, made the allegations outside Patna's Jakkanpur police station, where he had gathered with supporters. He claimed that more than 16 of his party workers had been 'rounded up' and that the police were not disclosing their whereabouts. 'I have been camping here for the past few hours, and the police are unable to divulge the whereabouts,' Kishor told reporters.

The former poll strategist said he was not describing the detentions as arrests 'since there is no record of which of my people have been named in which case.' He alleged that the Station House Officer (SHO) at Jakkanpur told him the detained individuals had been taken to different police stations and that the SHO himself claimed no involvement, saying the detentions were carried out 'at the instance of higher-ups.'

Kishor further alleged that the SHO threatened him and his supporters, saying he would 'deal with them after taking off his uniform.' In response, Kishor said the officer would lose his job if anything happened to his supporters.

'Clearly, the ruling BJP is behind these detentions. It knows it is going to lose the bypoll. The police can keep a person in custody for 24 hours without producing him before a magistrate. So a plan has been devised to keep some of my supporters in custody till voting is over,' Kishor claimed.

He asserted that such 'misuse of administrative machinery' could not ensure victory for the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which had roped in 'almost all 201 of its MLAs' for the campaign. The contest is primarily between Kishor and BJP's Neeraj Kumar Sinha, a youth wing leader, among 26 candidates.

Police officials, when contacted, denied the allegations, stating that no supporters were detained and that Kishor's claims were baseless. They said the matter was being investigated and appropriate action would be taken if any irregularities were found.

Kishor said he was sitting at the police station to highlight the 'sheer lack of professionalism' and added that after the bypoll, his party would press for action against the erring police officials.