Patna: Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor on Sunday said his party has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against Patna police, accusing them of illegally detaining party functionaries and supporters during the Bankipur assembly byelection at the behest of the BJP.Addressing a news conference in Patna, Kishor alleged that 54 people, including several Bankipur residents, were detained for two days before polling began on Thursday. He raised questions over the role of Patna police in the byelection and alleged that Patna SSP Kartikeya K Sharma acted on the BJP’s instructions. Kishor demanded action against the SSP.Kishor, who contested the Bankipur byelection, said polling was held on July 30 and counting of votes is scheduled for Aug 3. He claimed that, following a request from Jan Suraaj, the officials from the office of the chief electoral officer assured the party that the Patna SSP would have no role in counting areas on Monday.Calling Sharma “incompetent”, Kishor accused him of trying to influence voters through biased police action. “If the SSP wants to do politics, he should first resign from his post. Everyone has the freedom to do politics in a democracy, but not while sitting on an administrative chair,” Kishor said.He also targeted the BJP-led govt in Bihar, saying former CM Nitish Kumar had never misused the administration or police to win elections during his 20-year tenure. Kishor alleged that while 54 Jan Suraaj members and supporters were detained, no BJP workers were picked up. He claimed BJP functionaries were identifying people and police were detaining those pointed out by them.Kishor rejected the Patna SSP’s claim that police had detained alleged ‘outsiders’ during the 48-hour period when electioneering was stopped to maintain law and order. He said Jan Suraaj had submitted evidence to the Election Commission showing that several detainees were residents of Bankipur and had not violated prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC, now Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.According to Kishor, more than 18 of the 54 detainees were local residents. He appeared with three local residents who alleged that they or their family members were taken from their homes at night.Nawal Kishor Gupta, a resident of Mandiri in Patna, claimed police picked him up around 2am on Thursday while he was sleeping with his family. Gupta said police did not specify any offence and alleged the detention was meant to prevent him from voting, though he was later allowed to cast his vote at 5pm.Kishor said complaints had also been submitted to the general and police observers. He added that Jan Suraaj would approach the Election Commission in Delhi within two days and move the court if necessary.
