Do you know Amitabh Thakur an IIT Kanpur Alumnus and IPS Officer who had resigned and was planning to stand for election opposing Yogi has been arrested and taken into custody 👇👇
I got to know Amitabh Thakur and Arvind Kejriwal through IIT Global Groups and my Jago India anti corruption Group in 2003 and Jan Lok Pal Protests
Amitabh Thakur was dismissed from IPS but he fought his case right upto Supreme Court and won. The Rajasthan government reluctantly reinstated him recently.
Amitabh was arrested on 28th August 2021:-
UP ex-IPS officer arrested for ‘abetting’ suicide of Ballia woman, her friendDuo set selves ablaze outside SC; Thakur has announced running against Yogi in next polls.
Written by Manish Sahu | Lucknow |
Updated: August 28, 2021 8:13:27 am
Former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur at Hazratganj Police Station after he was arrested for allegedly conspiring with BSP MP Atul Rai to spread false information on social media regarding a rape case filed against Rai by a woman, in Lucknow,
Friday, Aug. 27, 2021. (PTI Photo)
Lucknow police on Friday arrested former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur on charges including abetment of suicide of a rape victim and her friend, who had set themselves on fire outside the Supreme Court on August 16, and died subsequently..
The 24-year-old victim, who had accused BSP Lok Sabha MP Atul Rai of raping her at his Varanasi home in 2018 and alleged that Thakur helped the MP in harassing and threatening her to withdraw her case or weaken it, had died in a Delhi hospital on August 24.
Her friend, who was 27, had died days before.
Lucknow police on Friday arrested former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur on charges including abetment of suicide of a rape victim and her friend, who had set themselves on fire outside the Supreme Court on August 16, and died subsequently..
The 24-year-old victim, who had accused BSP Lok Sabha MP Atul Rai of raping her at his Varanasi home in 2018 and alleged that Thakur helped the MP in harassing and threatening her to withdraw her case or weaken it, had died in a Delhi hospital on August 24.
Her friend, who was 27, had died days before.
Before setting themselves on fire, the two had recorded a Facebook Live video, in which the victim said she had lodged a rape case against the MP, and accused police of supporting him. They had claimed that the threats and harassment were driving them towards death by suicide.
Thakur was arrested from outside his residence in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar in the afternoon. (PTI Photo)
Thakur’s family on Friday announced that he would form a political party. The former IPS officer, a known critic of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, had recently said that he would contest next year’s Assembly elections against the Chief Minister. Thakur’s wife Nutan Thakur, an advocate and social activist, could not be reached for a comment.
The Thakurs have filed many PILs and RTI queries over the years, against governments under different parties.
In 2017, Nutan Thakur moved court regarding the Gorakhpur tragedy in which children had died at Baba Raghav Das Medical College.
Thakur’s family on Friday announced that he would form a political party. The former IPS officer, a known critic of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, had recently said that he would contest next year’s Assembly elections against the Chief Minister. Thakur’s wife Nutan Thakur, an advocate and social activist, could not be reached for a comment.
The Thakurs have filed many PILs and RTI queries over the years, against governments under different parties.
In 2017, Nutan Thakur moved court regarding the Gorakhpur tragedy in which children had died at Baba Raghav Das Medical College.
In 2013, she had filed a petition seeking direction for a CBI inquiry into all major riots that took place in UP after the Samajwadi Party came to power in 2012.
The same year, they had filed a petition against the then UP chief secretary Jawed Usmani over vacancies in the SC and ST Commission.
In March this year, the Union Home Ministry gave premature retirement from service to Thakur, a 1992-batch IPS officer. He was given retirement even before competition of service in “public interest”, the ministry stated.
Rai, Lok Sabha MP from Ghosi, is lodged in Prayagraj’s Naini Jail in connection with the rape case.
On August 18, the UP government had formed a two-member probe panel led by DGP (Police Recruitment and Promotion Board) Raj Kumar Vishwakarma and comprising Additional D-G (Women Power Line) Neera Rawat to look into the allegations of the woman, who was a native of UP’s Ballia district and a university student in Varanasi .
The panel submitted its report to the state government on Friday. Based on it, Lucknow police lodged an FIR against Thakur and Rai at city’s Hazratganj police station on a complaint by sub-inspector Daya Shankar Dwivedi.
DCP, Central (Lucknow), Khyati Garg said the panel’s report prime facie held Thakur and Rai responsible for abetment of suicide and other charges. It recommended lodging cases against them, Garg said.
Thakur was arrested from outside his residence in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar in the afternoon. In a video that emerged on social media, Thakur is seen refusing to be taken by the police team that arrived to arrest him. He refused to go with the police team until he was given a copy of FIR, and was heard claiming that police were acting illegally.
Police are likely to consider the Facebook video the victim and her friend put out as their dying declaration.
Additional DGP (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar confirmed Thakur’s arrest and said further action is being taken.
The FIR against Thakur and Rai has been filed under IPC Sections 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury), 195-A (threatening any person to false evidence), 218 (public servant framing incorrect record, etc), 306 (abetment of suicide), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).
The probe panel’s report stated that victim had lodged a case of rape, criminal intimidation and cheating against Atul Rai at Varanasi’s Lanka police station on May 1, 2019. Police said pressure was allegedly built on her soon after by filing seven FIRs against her and other witnesses. Police said the report mentions a letter the victim had given to the then Varanasi SSP on November 10, 2020. It purportedly stated that Thakur allegedly took money from Rai to prepare false evidence against the victim.
The victim complained that Rai allegedly raped her when she had gone to his flat in Varanasi to meet his family members, including wife. The woman, who studied at a university in Varanasi, also complained that Rai allegedly recorded the sexual assault and threatened to circulate it on social media if she took the case forward.
On June 22, 2019, Atul Rai surrendered before a court, which sent him to judicial custody. Lodged in jail since, Rai won the Lok Sabha election from inside jail.
Police have filed a chargesheet against Rai in the rape case, and the case is pending in a Prayagraj local court.
In March this year, the Union Home Ministry gave premature retirement from service to Thakur, a 1992-batch IPS officer. He was given retirement even before competition of service in “public interest”, the ministry stated.
Rai, Lok Sabha MP from Ghosi, is lodged in Prayagraj’s Naini Jail in connection with the rape case.
On August 18, the UP government had formed a two-member probe panel led by DGP (Police Recruitment and Promotion Board) Raj Kumar Vishwakarma and comprising Additional D-G (Women Power Line) Neera Rawat to look into the allegations of the woman, who was a native of UP’s Ballia district and a university student in Varanasi .
The panel submitted its report to the state government on Friday. Based on it, Lucknow police lodged an FIR against Thakur and Rai at city’s Hazratganj police station on a complaint by sub-inspector Daya Shankar Dwivedi.
DCP, Central (Lucknow), Khyati Garg said the panel’s report prime facie held Thakur and Rai responsible for abetment of suicide and other charges. It recommended lodging cases against them, Garg said.
Thakur was arrested from outside his residence in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar in the afternoon. In a video that emerged on social media, Thakur is seen refusing to be taken by the police team that arrived to arrest him. He refused to go with the police team until he was given a copy of FIR, and was heard claiming that police were acting illegally.
Police are likely to consider the Facebook video the victim and her friend put out as their dying declaration.
Additional DGP (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar confirmed Thakur’s arrest and said further action is being taken.
The FIR against Thakur and Rai has been filed under IPC Sections 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury), 195-A (threatening any person to false evidence), 218 (public servant framing incorrect record, etc), 306 (abetment of suicide), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).
The probe panel’s report stated that victim had lodged a case of rape, criminal intimidation and cheating against Atul Rai at Varanasi’s Lanka police station on May 1, 2019. Police said pressure was allegedly built on her soon after by filing seven FIRs against her and other witnesses. Police said the report mentions a letter the victim had given to the then Varanasi SSP on November 10, 2020. It purportedly stated that Thakur allegedly took money from Rai to prepare false evidence against the victim.
The victim complained that Rai allegedly raped her when she had gone to his flat in Varanasi to meet his family members, including wife. The woman, who studied at a university in Varanasi, also complained that Rai allegedly recorded the sexual assault and threatened to circulate it on social media if she took the case forward.
On June 22, 2019, Atul Rai surrendered before a court, which sent him to judicial custody. Lodged in jail since, Rai won the Lok Sabha election from inside jail.
Police have filed a chargesheet against Rai in the rape case, and the case is pending in a Prayagraj local court.
In November 2020, Rai’s brother Pawan Kumar lodged a case against the victim, accusing her of forging government documents that had her date of birth. A case was registered at Cantonment police station in Varanasi against the woman and her friend on the court’s direction.
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Woman who attempted self-immolation outside Supreme Court dies
India Today
The woman, who attempted self-immolation outside the Supreme Court premises, succumbed to her injuries.
Sanjay Sharma
The woman, who attempted self-immolation outside the Supreme Court premises, succumbed to her injuries.
Sanjay Sharma
August 24, 2021
Photo for representation
An alleged rape victim, who attempted self-immolation outside the Supreme Court premises succumbed to her injuries. Her male friend died on August 21.
The woman and her male friend had tried to self-immolate themselves outside the Supreme Court on August 16.
Both the woman and her male friend had done a Facebook Live before trying to self-immolate themselves outside the Supreme Court.
During Facebook Live, the victim and her friend had accused SSP Amit Pathak, CO Amresh Singh, Inspector Sanjay Rai, and his son Vivek Rai, former IG Amitabh Thakur.
According to police, the woman is from Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur and was allegedly raped by Bahujan Samaj Party MP Atul Rai in 2019.
The MP was subsequently arrested and has been in judicial custody in the rape case since the last two years.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Deepak Yadav said a police team deployed at the spot rushed with blankets to save them. The fire was doused and the victims were rushed to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for treatment, he added.
An inquiry is underway to ascertain the exact reason, but the police suspect she attempted suicide as she feared being farmed in fraud cases by the accused party.
In the live Facebook video, she claimed that a non-bailable warrant has been issued against her by a local court in UP and that she was summoned by the judge.
In March, the woman had filed a plea in the Supreme Court, seeking transfer of her rape case for a fair trial from Allahabad to Delhi on grounds of threat to her life.
Later in August, a local court in Varanasi issued a non-bailable warrant against the woman in a case of forgery based on a complaint filed by the accused MP's brother.
(With inputs from PTI)
Photo for representation
An alleged rape victim, who attempted self-immolation outside the Supreme Court premises succumbed to her injuries. Her male friend died on August 21.
The woman and her male friend had tried to self-immolate themselves outside the Supreme Court on August 16.
Both the woman and her male friend had done a Facebook Live before trying to self-immolate themselves outside the Supreme Court.
During Facebook Live, the victim and her friend had accused SSP Amit Pathak, CO Amresh Singh, Inspector Sanjay Rai, and his son Vivek Rai, former IG Amitabh Thakur.
According to police, the woman is from Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur and was allegedly raped by Bahujan Samaj Party MP Atul Rai in 2019.
The MP was subsequently arrested and has been in judicial custody in the rape case since the last two years.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Deepak Yadav said a police team deployed at the spot rushed with blankets to save them. The fire was doused and the victims were rushed to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for treatment, he added.
An inquiry is underway to ascertain the exact reason, but the police suspect she attempted suicide as she feared being farmed in fraud cases by the accused party.
In the live Facebook video, she claimed that a non-bailable warrant has been issued against her by a local court in UP and that she was summoned by the judge.
In March, the woman had filed a plea in the Supreme Court, seeking transfer of her rape case for a fair trial from Allahabad to Delhi on grounds of threat to her life.
Later in August, a local court in Varanasi issued a non-bailable warrant against the woman in a case of forgery based on a complaint filed by the accused MP's brother.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Woman who accused BSP MP Atul Rai of rape sets herself, friend ablaze outside Supreme Court
The Print
Woman had in 2019 accused Ghosi MP Atul Rai of rape, now accuses several police officers of trying to help Rai, posts Facebook live video of self-immolation.
Woman had in 2019 accused Ghosi MP Atul Rai of rape, now accuses several police officers of trying to help Rai, posts Facebook live video of self-immolation.
17 August, 2021 10:32 am IST
Delhi Police cordon off an area outside Supreme Court (gate number D) where a woman and a man set themselves on fire, on 16 August 2021 | ANI
New Delhi: A woman who had accused the Bahujan Samaj Party MP from Ghosi, Atul Rai, of rape in 2019, set herself on fire along with a friend outside the Supreme Court Monday noon.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi district, Deepak Yadav told ThePrint that the fire was doused by the staff on duty with the help of the public and both the woman and her friend were shifted to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital for further treatment.
Speaking to ThePrint, a senior Delhi Police officer said, “The woman is from Ballia and the man is from Ghazipur. We are trying to ascertain their relationship with each other. They have suffered severe burn injuries and aren’t in a position to give a statement yet.”
Delhi Police officials informed the Uttar Pradesh Police about the incident and the families of the two have also been contacted, according to DCP Yadav.
The woman had broadcast the self-immolation in a Facebook live video around noon that lasted around 10 minutes. In the video, she and a man can be seen pouring inflammable liquid and later setting themselves on fire. She introduced herself as a “rape victim” and alleged that the UP Police tried to prove she was “characterless” in various ways to save Rai.
“We won’t tell you the location but we have come here to fulfill what all of them have been trying to do for the last one and a half years,” the woman is heard saying in the video.
The woman also went on to name Senior Superintendent of Police, Varanasi, Amit Pathak; Circle Officer Amresh Singh; a police officer named Sanjay Rai and his son Vivek Rai; and former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, alleging they played a role in trying to help Rai.
Additional Director General of Police, law & order, Prashant Kumar told ThePrint, “Strict action will be taken in the matter. We have taken cognisance of the video and immediate action will be taken … we are verifying. All culprits will be booked.”
“We had already filed a chargesheet against Atul Rai and one sub inspector and a deputy superintendent of police was suspended following the woman’s complaint,” Kumar added. The woman had filed her complaint in May 2019.
As it happens, a non-bailable warrant had been issued against the woman earlier this month by a Varanasi court on a case registered in November 2020 by Rai’s brother Pawan Kumar.
“Rai’s brother had filed a complaint that the woman had forged her marksheet submitted in court. An FIR was registered against her,” a senior UP Police officer said.
An FIR under Indian Penal Code sections 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will), 468 (purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) was lodged in the case.
Pawan Kumar, in his complaint, noted a discrepancy in the date of birth stated by the woman in two different documents. In her marksheet submitted while filing a 2015 complaint, the date of birth was listed as 10 March 1997 while the one submitted in Rai’s case said 10 June 1997, alleged Kumar.
The 2015 complaint Kumar referenced was a molestation charge filed by the woman against a student leader, Amritesh Singh alias Sabal.
Kumar had also accused the woman of running a ‘honey trapping’ racket.
The 2019 case
On 1 May 2019, the woman had filed a rape case against Rai for allegedly sexually assaulting her. The complaint came a week after Rai had filed his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha election. The MP went on the run but later surrendered in court on 22 June, after he won the election. A Varanasi court however refused to grant him protection from arrests, citing that there are 16 other cases already lodged against him.
In her complaint, the woman had accused Rai of taking her to his home in Chitaipur, Varanasi, on the pretext of meeting his wife and then ‘sexually assaulted’ her and threatened her that a video of the assault will be released. Rai denied the allegations, and a charge sheet was filed against him in June 2019.
After his arrest, in September 2019, the woman accused Rai and his aides of threatening her from prison. She alleged that they warned of meeting the same fate as the Unnao rape survivor.
The woman filed a plea in the Supreme Court this March seeking a transfer of the case from Prayagraj to Delhi, citing threats to her life. She also registered a defamation complaint against Rai again in December 2020 for allegedly maligning her image on social media.
The UP Police had at the time said the woman alleged that members of the Mukhtar Ansari gang and Atul Rai had been harassing her and her family since the rape case was lodged.
In the Facebook Live video from Monday, the woman’s friend could be heard saying: “We decided this over the last couple of weeks … you serve us as many non-bailable warrants as you please. Atul Rai is everything for you people and society, release him.”
“This is a nexus and we have been trapped,” he added.
(Edited by Manasa Mohan)
New Delhi: A woman who had accused the Bahujan Samaj Party MP from Ghosi, Atul Rai, of rape in 2019, set herself on fire along with a friend outside the Supreme Court Monday noon.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi district, Deepak Yadav told ThePrint that the fire was doused by the staff on duty with the help of the public and both the woman and her friend were shifted to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital for further treatment.
Speaking to ThePrint, a senior Delhi Police officer said, “The woman is from Ballia and the man is from Ghazipur. We are trying to ascertain their relationship with each other. They have suffered severe burn injuries and aren’t in a position to give a statement yet.”
Delhi Police officials informed the Uttar Pradesh Police about the incident and the families of the two have also been contacted, according to DCP Yadav.
The woman had broadcast the self-immolation in a Facebook live video around noon that lasted around 10 minutes. In the video, she and a man can be seen pouring inflammable liquid and later setting themselves on fire. She introduced herself as a “rape victim” and alleged that the UP Police tried to prove she was “characterless” in various ways to save Rai.
“We won’t tell you the location but we have come here to fulfill what all of them have been trying to do for the last one and a half years,” the woman is heard saying in the video.
The woman also went on to name Senior Superintendent of Police, Varanasi, Amit Pathak; Circle Officer Amresh Singh; a police officer named Sanjay Rai and his son Vivek Rai; and former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, alleging they played a role in trying to help Rai.
Additional Director General of Police, law & order, Prashant Kumar told ThePrint, “Strict action will be taken in the matter. We have taken cognisance of the video and immediate action will be taken … we are verifying. All culprits will be booked.”
“We had already filed a chargesheet against Atul Rai and one sub inspector and a deputy superintendent of police was suspended following the woman’s complaint,” Kumar added. The woman had filed her complaint in May 2019.
As it happens, a non-bailable warrant had been issued against the woman earlier this month by a Varanasi court on a case registered in November 2020 by Rai’s brother Pawan Kumar.
“Rai’s brother had filed a complaint that the woman had forged her marksheet submitted in court. An FIR was registered against her,” a senior UP Police officer said.
An FIR under Indian Penal Code sections 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will), 468 (purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) was lodged in the case.
Pawan Kumar, in his complaint, noted a discrepancy in the date of birth stated by the woman in two different documents. In her marksheet submitted while filing a 2015 complaint, the date of birth was listed as 10 March 1997 while the one submitted in Rai’s case said 10 June 1997, alleged Kumar.
The 2015 complaint Kumar referenced was a molestation charge filed by the woman against a student leader, Amritesh Singh alias Sabal.
Kumar had also accused the woman of running a ‘honey trapping’ racket.
The 2019 case
On 1 May 2019, the woman had filed a rape case against Rai for allegedly sexually assaulting her. The complaint came a week after Rai had filed his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha election. The MP went on the run but later surrendered in court on 22 June, after he won the election. A Varanasi court however refused to grant him protection from arrests, citing that there are 16 other cases already lodged against him.
In her complaint, the woman had accused Rai of taking her to his home in Chitaipur, Varanasi, on the pretext of meeting his wife and then ‘sexually assaulted’ her and threatened her that a video of the assault will be released. Rai denied the allegations, and a charge sheet was filed against him in June 2019.
After his arrest, in September 2019, the woman accused Rai and his aides of threatening her from prison. She alleged that they warned of meeting the same fate as the Unnao rape survivor.
The woman filed a plea in the Supreme Court this March seeking a transfer of the case from Prayagraj to Delhi, citing threats to her life. She also registered a defamation complaint against Rai again in December 2020 for allegedly maligning her image on social media.
The UP Police had at the time said the woman alleged that members of the Mukhtar Ansari gang and Atul Rai had been harassing her and her family since the rape case was lodged.
In the Facebook Live video from Monday, the woman’s friend could be heard saying: “We decided this over the last couple of weeks … you serve us as many non-bailable warrants as you please. Atul Rai is everything for you people and society, release him.”
“This is a nexus and we have been trapped,” he added.
(Edited by Manasa Mohan)
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The Print
The couple has been accused of assaulting police, obstructing govt work when security personnel went to arrest Thakur on serious charges of ‘abetting’ suicide of rape victim, friend.
PTI 29 August, 2021 10:49 am IST
File photo of former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur | Twitter/@AmitabhthakurLucknow: A fresh FIR was lodged on Saturday against former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, arrested on charges of abetting suicide of a rape victim and her associate, and his wife for obstructing government work, police said.
The FIR was registered against Thakur and his social activist wife Nutan Thakur at the Gomti Nagar Police Station, they said.
The couple has been accused of assaulting police and obstructing government work when the security personnel had gone to arrest Thakur from his Gomti Nagar residence on Friday, police said.
The former IPS officer Thakur was arrested on Friday on serious charges, including abetment of suicide of the rape victim and her friend in Delhi recently.
The 24-year-old woman, who had accused Bahujan Samaj Party MP Atul Rai of rape in May 2019, died on August 24 after she and her friend Satyam Rai set themselves afire outside the Supreme Court complex on August 16.
Lucknow Police Commissioner D K Thakur had said that the former IPS officer was arrested in a case registered after the death of the rape victim.
Director General of Police Mukul Goel had said in a statement on Friday, “In connection with self-immolation attempt by the victim and her aide before the Supreme Court on August 16, the government had constituted an inquiry committee which in its interim investigation report, found BSP MP from Ghosi, Atul Rai and Amitabh Thakur prima facie guilty of abetting the victim and her associate witness to commit suicide and of other charges and also recommended registering a case against them.
Also read: ‘Adityanath spreading venom’ — IPS officer forced to retire wants to fight CM in 2022 UP polls
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‘Adityanath spreading venom’ — IPS officer forced to retire wants to fight CM in 2022 UP polls
The Print
Former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, forced to retire by MHA in 'public interest' this March, had Saturday announced he would contest against CM Adityanath in UP polls.
2nd FIR filed against UP ex-IPS officer, wife
Former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, forced to retire by MHA in 'public interest' this March, had Saturday announced he would contest against CM Adityanath in UP polls.
17 August, 2021 8:00 am IST
File photo of former UP-cadre IPS officer Amitabh Thakur | Twitter/@Amitabhthakur
New Delhi: Former UP-cadre IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, who Saturday announced that he will contest against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the 2022 assembly elections, has told ThePrint that he is open to joining parties such as the Samajwadi Party (SP), an outfit he was once at odds with.
“Some established parties have reached out to me offering support if I contest independently,” Thakur told ThePrint in an exclusive interview Monday. “I have also been invited to join parties. If parties like the SP offer me a ticket, I am not against it.”
Thakur said while the Samajwadi Party has a history of “hooliganism” by party workers, party patron Akhilesh Yadav, unlike Yogi Adityanath, has always had “democratic values”.
Thakur is one of three IPS officers who were forced to retire in “public interest” by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) this March.
File photo of former UP-cadre IPS officer Amitabh Thakur | Twitter/@AmitabhthakurNew Delhi: Former UP-cadre IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, who Saturday announced that he will contest against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the 2022 assembly elections, has told ThePrint that he is open to joining parties such as the Samajwadi Party (SP), an outfit he was once at odds with.
“Some established parties have reached out to me offering support if I contest independently,” Thakur told ThePrint in an exclusive interview Monday. “I have also been invited to join parties. If parties like the SP offer me a ticket, I am not against it.”
Thakur said while the Samajwadi Party has a history of “hooliganism” by party workers, party patron Akhilesh Yadav, unlike Yogi Adityanath, has always had “democratic values”.
Thakur is one of three IPS officers who were forced to retire in “public interest” by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) this March.
The 1993-batch officer would have completed his service in 2028. In its order, the MHA said Thakur was deemed not to be “fit to be retained for the remaining tenure of his service”. It went on to cite “complaints”, including “disciplinary issues”, against Thakur and the other two officers.
Speaking to ThePrint, Thakur, who accuses Adityanath of polarising society and targeting critics with “flimsy cases”, said he will decide his constituency based on where the chief minister decides to contest from — Gorakhpur or Ayodhya — and create his own base in whatever way possible. Support, he added, has already begun pouring in.
He recently launched an organisation called ‘Adhikar Sena’, which he says will fight for constitutional rights of citizens.
“Our primary concern is transparency and accountability. We are open to any of these parties that are secular in their ideologies and allow us to stick to principles,” he said.
Thakur has had a strained relationship with the SP. In 2015, he was suspended after accusing then SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav of threatening him.
In 2016, following his run-ins with Yadav, rape allegations were also levelled against Thakur and his wife Nutan, a lawyer, by a Ghaziabad-based woman. Thakur had then demanded a CBI probe in the case.
A case was filed but the couple was given a clean chit by UP Police in 2017. In the same year, Thakur had also urged the Centre to change his cadre.
The former police officer believes these controversies erupted as the couple are activists and fight against the abuse of power.
Also read: Who are non-Yadav OBCs & why UP political parties are lining up to woo them ahead of polls
‘Adityanath only polarises society’
The former IPS officer says “Yogi Adityanath’s prime focus has been to polarise society to garner votes”.
“I have been witness to all of these since 1994, even when he wasn’t a member of Parliament,” Thakur told ThePrint. “He has been spreading venom and hatred, and his governance has been blatant and completely dictatorial with the assistance of some handpicked blue-eyed officers.”
He added that Hindus don’t want such a “hate-filled society”.
“Adityanath has brought in complete intolerance in UP — the worst thing that could have happened,” he said. “It is not that the majority, Hindus, want a hatred-filled society but this government has already reduced it to this and the minorities are left voiceless. This intolerance will have severe repercussions.”
‘BJP law-&-order claims a sham’
The former IPS officer accused the Adityanath government of registering “flimsy cases” against anyone who questions it on the one hand, and trying to relieve its own leaders of “heinous crimes” like the Muzaffarnagar riots cases on the other hand.
“Earlier, people with different political views and opinions weren’t arrested, the UAPA wasn’t slapped on them,” he said. “Adityanath has always claimed that there is a fabulous law-and-order situation in the state, but the reality is that it has been only a reign of terror. Anyone who speaks out against the government is now an outlaw and he or she is charged with every law possible.”
“The CM and BJP can claim that the law-and-order situation has improved but the fact is that the common man who believes in his freedom of thought and expression is truly intimidated,” he added.
(Edited by Arun Prashanth)
Speaking to ThePrint, Thakur, who accuses Adityanath of polarising society and targeting critics with “flimsy cases”, said he will decide his constituency based on where the chief minister decides to contest from — Gorakhpur or Ayodhya — and create his own base in whatever way possible. Support, he added, has already begun pouring in.
He recently launched an organisation called ‘Adhikar Sena’, which he says will fight for constitutional rights of citizens.
“Our primary concern is transparency and accountability. We are open to any of these parties that are secular in their ideologies and allow us to stick to principles,” he said.
Thakur has had a strained relationship with the SP. In 2015, he was suspended after accusing then SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav of threatening him.
In 2016, following his run-ins with Yadav, rape allegations were also levelled against Thakur and his wife Nutan, a lawyer, by a Ghaziabad-based woman. Thakur had then demanded a CBI probe in the case.
A case was filed but the couple was given a clean chit by UP Police in 2017. In the same year, Thakur had also urged the Centre to change his cadre.
The former police officer believes these controversies erupted as the couple are activists and fight against the abuse of power.
Also read: Who are non-Yadav OBCs & why UP political parties are lining up to woo them ahead of polls
‘Adityanath only polarises society’
The former IPS officer says “Yogi Adityanath’s prime focus has been to polarise society to garner votes”.
“I have been witness to all of these since 1994, even when he wasn’t a member of Parliament,” Thakur told ThePrint. “He has been spreading venom and hatred, and his governance has been blatant and completely dictatorial with the assistance of some handpicked blue-eyed officers.”
He added that Hindus don’t want such a “hate-filled society”.
“Adityanath has brought in complete intolerance in UP — the worst thing that could have happened,” he said. “It is not that the majority, Hindus, want a hatred-filled society but this government has already reduced it to this and the minorities are left voiceless. This intolerance will have severe repercussions.”
‘BJP law-&-order claims a sham’
The former IPS officer accused the Adityanath government of registering “flimsy cases” against anyone who questions it on the one hand, and trying to relieve its own leaders of “heinous crimes” like the Muzaffarnagar riots cases on the other hand.
“Earlier, people with different political views and opinions weren’t arrested, the UAPA wasn’t slapped on them,” he said. “Adityanath has always claimed that there is a fabulous law-and-order situation in the state, but the reality is that it has been only a reign of terror. Anyone who speaks out against the government is now an outlaw and he or she is charged with every law possible.”
“The CM and BJP can claim that the law-and-order situation has improved but the fact is that the common man who believes in his freedom of thought and expression is truly intimidated,” he added.
(Edited by Arun Prashanth)
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Indian Express
The police said the second case was filed as Thakur resisted arrest when the police went to his home at Viram Khand in Gomti Nagar to take him into custody in the abetment of suicide case.
By: Express News Service | Lucknow |
August 29, 2021 3:37:17 am
In a video that has surfaced on social media, Thakur is seen resisting arrest. He allegedly refused to comply with police instructions till he was given a copy of the FIR. Before being shoved into a vehicle, he is heard saying that police were acting illegally.A day after the Lucknow Police arrested retired IPS officer Amitabh Thakur on charge of abetting the suicide of a suspected rape victim from Ballia and her friend, the police Saturday said Thakur and his wife Nutan had been charged with using criminal force to obstruct an official.
The police said the second case was filed as Thakur resisted arrest when the police went to his home at Viram Khand in Gomti Nagar to take him into custody in the abetment of suicide case.
In a video that has surfaced on social media, Thakur is seen resisting arrest. He allegedly refused to comply with police instructions till he was given a copy of the FIR. Before being shoved into a vehicle, he is heard saying that police were acting illegally.
The second FIR was registered based on a complaint from sub-inspector Dhananjay Singh. “On the basis of a video, an FIR was lodged against Amitabh Thakur and Nutan Thakur for criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty. Nutan Thakur was also creating hindrance for police,” said Gomti Nagar SHO KK Tiwari.
