FIR lodged against Prashant Kishor over plagiarism allegations in 'Baat Bihar Ki' campaign

An FIR has been lodged against political strategist Prashant Kishor in Patlipurra police station Patna allegedly for plagiarism in his 'Baat Bihar Ki' campaign.

The FIR has been registered under Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Patliputra Police Station, Patna. The FIR ( no. 94/20) has been lodged by Shashwat Gautam, who in his complaint, has alleged that he was working on a similar project, which was supposed to be launched sometime in the future.

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Sashwat Gautam has also lodged an FIR against a person named Osama. In the FIR, Gautam has also alleged that Osama was working with him on 'Bihar ki Baat' before he resigned from the job and later gave the content to Prashant Kishor. In the FIR, Gautam has further alleged, "all the contents of 'Baat Bihar Ki' launched by Prashant Kishor on 20th February were formulated by him."

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Gautam furnishes evidence

Gautam further went on to say, "I have furnished documentary evidence to the police that I got my website for Bihar ki Baat registered in January, whereas Prashant Kishor got his website 'Baat Bihar Ki' registered in February."

Republic TV tried contacting Shashwat Gautam for his comments, but he was not reachable. Meanwhile, Prashant Kishor has rubbished the allegations. Kishor in his defence said, "This is nothing but third rate mischief & poor attempt by a person to gain his 2 minutes of fame by making an outlandish claim. Law enforcement agencies should thoroughly and expeditiously examine the matter so that truth comes out in the public domain."

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Patna police have started examining the case. Initially, the senior officers will first supervise the case, thereafter based on the merit of the allegations, police will further investigate.

After severing ties with Nitish Kumar, Kishor launched the 'Baat Bihar Ki'  campaign through which he aims to target Nitish Kumar on the developmental plan making Bihar one of the 10 best states in the country.

Sashwat Gautam is reportedly an engineer by profession and has worked in the USA for some time. At present, he is associated with the IT cell of Congress.

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