BPSC exam row: Prashant Kishor, on hunger strike, arrested
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Patna (PTI): Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor, who was on a fast unto death at Gandhi Maidan here to press the demand for cancellation of a Bihar PSC exam, was arrested early on Monday, police said.
Police personnel removed him and his supporters from the protest site as they were holding the demonstration near a restricted area, and thus it was "illegal", a senior officer said.
Kishor was arrested on the fifth day of his fast-unto-death protest over an alleged question paper leak in the December 13 examination conducted by Bihar PSC.
According to Jan Suraaj party's supporters, the police took Kishor to Patna AIIMS for a medical examination.
Talking to PTI, Patna District Magistrate (DM) Chandrashekhar Singh said, "Yes, Kishor and his supporters, who were sitting on a dharna at Gandhi Maidan, were arrested by the police on Monday morning. They will now be produced before a court."
Their demonstration was "illegal", he said, adding that they were holding the sit-in near the restricted site.
“Despite repeated requests by the officials concerned, they did not leave the place. They had also been served notice by the district administration to shift their dharna to Gardani Bagh, the dedicated place for holding protests, in the state capital," the DM said.
The Patna Police had registered a case against Kishor for holding the fast unto death at Gandhi Maidan’s restricted site, another official said.
The district administration also issued a statement, claiming that the "Kishor is absolutely fine".
Immediately after his arrest, the poll strategist-turned-politician was taken to Patna AIIMS for a medical check-up.
When Kishor was being taken out from the AIIMS in an ambulance, his supporters tried to block the road outside the hospital.
A "mild force was used to disperse Kishor’s supporters who gathered outside AIIMS and tried to disrupt traffic movement", said a senior police officer.
Kishor began his fast unto death on January 2 in support of the civil service aspirants who have been demanding the cancellation of the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examination held on December 13 last year.
However, the BPSC had ordered the retest for a select group of candidates who had appeared in the December 13 exam, which was embroiled over allegations of question paper leak.
The retest was held on January 4 at 22 centres here.
Of 12,012 candidates, around 8,111 aspirants had downloaded their admit cards for the re-exam.
However, 5,943 candidates appeared for the retest last week.
The retest was held peacefully at all centres without report of any misconduct and malpractice, the BPSC said in a statement issued on Saturday.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
