Prashant Kishor had launched his 'Baat Bihar Ki' campaign in Patna on February 18
A case has been filed against election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor for alleged plagiarism in his 'Baat Bihar Ki' campaign launched in Patna last week, police said today.
According to the complaint lodged at the Pataliputra police station in the city on Wednesday night, Mr Kishor has used content developed by Shashwat Gautam, a data analytics coordinator with the Congress, for his campaign, Station House Officer (SHO) Kamleshwar Prasad Singh said.
Mr Gautam has also named as accused his former aide Osama, who was privy to the content and whom he suspects of making the same available to Prashant Kishor after parting ways, the officer said.
Prashant Kishor however called this "a poor attempt to gain 2 minutes of fame".
"This is nothing but third rate mischief and 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," Mr Kishor said.
Based on the complaint, a case has been lodged under sections 420 (cheating and dishonesty) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code, he added.
Further investigation in the matter is underway, Mr Singh said.
Shashwat Gautam, who belongs to Bihar's East Champaran district, joined the Congress last year. The George Washington University alumnus was earlier associated with Patna-based think tank ADRI and served as an adviser to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Prashant Kishor had launched his campaign in Patna on February 18, weeks after being sacked from the JD(U) headed by Nitish Kumar.
Mr Kishor credited Nitish Kumar of achieving much during the 15 years in power but charged him with failure to do enough for a state that still lagged behind the rest of the country on most development parameters.