India, July 30 -- Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Thursday alleged that Bihar Police detained more than 16 of his supporters at the behest of the ruling BJP, hours before polling began in the Bankipur assembly bypoll.

Kishor, who is contesting his first election from the seat, made the allegation outside the Jakkanpur police station, where he said he had been waiting for hours for information about the whereabouts of his supporters.

"I am not describing these as arrests since there is no record of which of my people have been named in which case," Kishor told reporters. He alleged that the detainees had been moved to different police stations and claimed the detentions were carried out at the direction of senior officials. ...