The Bihar Police on Monday arrested Jan Suraaj party founder Prashant Kishor, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike to press for cancellation of the recently held Bihar Public Service Commission preliminary examination, reported PTI.

The police also vacated Gandhi Maidan in Patna, where the strike was being held, after clashes with the protestors broke out, according to the news agency.

Civil services aspirants in Bihar who appeared for the 70th Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination on December 13 have been protesting in Patna since December 18, alleging a question paper leak at one of the centres.

They have also alleged that CCTV cameras and jammers were not functioning at several examination centres and that question papers were distributed late at some.

Kishor began his indefinite hunger strike against the “the ruined education and corrupt examination system” on January 2.

In a social media post on Monday, the Jan Suraaj party alleged that the police attempted to break Kishor’s fast by taking him from Gandhi Maidan to the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences.

“After failing to break the fast, the administration is trying to take Prashant Kishore to a new place,” the party claimed in the post. “The police brutally lathi-charged the crowd that had gathered to see Prashant Kishor outside AIIMS.”

Chandrashekhar Singh, the district magistrate of Patna, told PTI that Kishor was arrested as he was “illegally protesting” in front of the Gandhi statue in the restricted area of Gandhi Maidan.

“Despite repeated requests by the officials concerned, they did not leave the place,” Singh was quoted as saying. “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.”

He added that Kishor would be presented before the court later in the day.

Ahead of his detention, Kishor said his party would file a petition in the Patna High Court on Tuesday over the alleged irregularities in the examination.

“It is not a matter of decision for us whether we will continue this [protest] or not,” ANI quoted the Jan Suraaj party founder as saying. “We will continue doing what we are doing now, there will be no change in it...We [Jan Suraaj party] will file a petition in the High Court on the 7th.”

Earlier on Sunday, he urged Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav to lead the protest as he was a “tall” leader and the leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly.

This came hours after Yadav accused Kishor’s party of acting as a “B team” for the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar, The Hindu reported.

“This movement was started by students,” Yadav said. “The nearly two week-long dharna at Gardani Bagh, where I also had gone recently, had caused the government to tremble. At this moment, came some elements acting as the government’s B team.”

In response, Kishor claimed that Yadav should have led the protests. “I have been telling them to lead the protest,” he was quoted as saying by ANI. “We will step aside…Politics can happen whenever. We don’t have any party banner here. We care about the agenda of the students.”

Bihar Public Service Commission Chairman Parmar Ravi Manubhai has denied any question paper leaks and stated that the preliminary examination was conducted peacefully at 911 out of 912 centres. So far, the commission has agreed to reschedule the exam only for candidates who appeared at a centre in Patna, where an exam official died of a heart attack.