Former IG Amitabh Thakur held by Lucknow police in fraud case in Deoria
LUCKNOW: Former IG and Chief of Azad Adhikar Sena Amitabh Thakur was picked up by Uttar Pradesh Police from SitapurMaholi border while he was on his way to Delhi from Lucknow on Wednesday. Police officers in plain clothes boarded the train and took him off in connection with an alleged case of fraud and cheating to secure an industrial plot in Deoria by misusing his official position in 1999. Police action came after the ex-cop did not cooperate with the investigation. Amitabh Thakur and his wife Nutan Thakurs X accounts have also been suspended. The case began after Sanjay Sharma of Rajajipuram filed a complaint alleging that Thakurs wife, Nutan Thakur, obtained Industrial Plot No. B-2 at the District Industries Centre in Deoria district of eastern UP using a fake name Nootan Devi, a forged husbands name, and a false Bihar address. She allegedly created forged application forms, affidavits and transfer deeds, while Amitabh Thakur allegedly used his official position to support the fraud. The police sources claimed that the said plot was later sold by Thakurs using their real identities. An FIR under relevant IPC sections related to cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy was registered at Talkatora police station in September, this year on the basis of a complaint submitted by Sanjay Sharma, a resident of Talkatora. The case is being investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Lucknow Police currently. As per Lucknow Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Vishwajeet Srivastava, Amitabh Thakurs arrest came through on the basis of the evidence collected during the probe. He will be produced before the Deoria court as the incident took place there, said the officer. To ensure a fair and transparent investigation, DCP Srivastava constituted the SIT. The police sources said that as part of the probe, the team gathered documentary evidence from Deoria, verified the alleged false identities and addresses in Bihar, examined official records, and questioned multiple witnesses. In March 2021, Thakur, a 1992-batch IPS officer, was given pre-mature retirement from the service by the Union Home Ministry. According to police, complainant Sanjay Sharma alleged that when Thakur was posted as Deoria SP in 1999, his wife secured the allotment of an industrial plot from the District Industries Centre. The complaint further alleged that the plot was later sold using the couples real names and address, thereby, keeping government agencies, banks, and other stakeholders in the dark for a long period. The police sources claimed that the SIT found sufficient evidence to proceed against the accused.
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