Advocate Amit Kumar strongly criticized the detention and subsequent attempt by the Patna police to imprison Jan Suraaj Party President Prashant Kishor.
Amit Kumar claimed that the Patna police had tried to transfer Kishor to Beur Jail on January 6 without adequate custody papers.
He said the Jail Superintendent did not admit Kishor as the custody papers were not submitted.
"It was surprising that when Prashant Kishor was taken out of the court premises and taken to Beur Jail, the hearing was still going on inside the court. They wanted to take Prashant Kishor to Beur Jail without custody papers. The Jail Superintendent refused to keep him inside without custody papers," Kumar said.
Kumar also raised concerns over the sections under which the case was filed.
He said that sections 190, 191(2), 191(3), and 223 -- under which Kishor has been charged -- are all bailable offenses.
He particularly criticized the application of section 191(3), which deals with rioting or possessing a weapon.
"There was not even a stick in the hands of any child. If Bihar Police considers blankets and mufflers as weapons, then Bihar Police is amazing. This was a Satyagraha; how did it become a riot?" Kumar asked.
The advocate pointed out the details covered in Prashant Kishor's bailable personal recognisance bond.
The first one was that he was an accused in the case and the second was being released by the court on bail.
The third one was that if the trial progressed Kishor should cooperate with the police as well as stand in the court of law; fourthly if he failed to be present or does not cooperate the court would then levy a fine of Rs 25,000 on him.
Kumar also wonders why Kishor, whose FIR was lodged at Gandhi Maidan police station, was taken straight to Beur Jail.
He said when the crowd became unruly during a sit-in protest, Kishor was given a microphone to speak to the crowd -- for which another FIR was filed.
"Why does the police not tell us by which authority they took him to Beur Jail? We were not given any papers by the police. The police have just made us a scapegoat of lies," Kumar asserted.
The detention and handling of Prashant Kishor by Patna police have raised several controversies, where allegations of procedural violations and high-handedness can be seen.
Retired IPS officer and Jan Suraaj Party leader Anand Mishra with party spokesperson Kishore Kumar Munna called for serious condemnation of the acts of the Bihar Police.
In his criticism on the unprofessional behavior of police, Anand Mishra held that the involved officers did not wear appropriate uniforms or wear identification.
He had serious objections on the grounds of lack of transparency, as he said, "No one knew where they were taking Prashant Kishor. Then I went behind and saw that no police officer had a nameplate on his uniform, no rank, and no one was even wearing a cap. Who knows, there might be impostors in the name of Bihar Police? No one even revealed his identity. Such behaviour does not happen even with a terrorist."
Mishra further appealed to Bihar's Director General of Police (DGP) to strictly follow the DK Basu guidelines issued by the Supreme Court which states that policemen must reveal their identity during detention.
He further said, "When I reminded them (police) about the guidelines, they revealed their rank only then. It was a totally illegal detention."
Party spokesperson Kishore Kumar Munna claimed that Kishor was picked up by the police at 4 a.m. without proper documentation.
He said that Kishor was taken to AIIMS, where the administration and doctors were pressured to admit him.
However, the AIIMS administration refused, citing the lack of requisite paperwork.
The incident further deteriorated as Prashant Kishor, who has been on a hunger strike since January 2, was later admitted to the ICU ward at Medanta Hospital in Patna as his health is deteriorating further.
Thursday marked the eighth day of Kishor's hunger strike.
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