Former Inspector General of Uttar Pradesh Police, Amitabh Thakur was arrested by the UP police while he was traveling from Lucknow to Delhi. He was sleeping when the police arrested him on a moving train. This arrest was similar to the capture of a notorious criminal who is trying to escape after committing a crime.
Amitabh Thakur was arrested in connection with a two and a half decades old case of irregularities in the allotment of a plot of land that was acquired in the name of his wife, Nutan Thakur. A court in Deoria has ordered Amitabh Thakur, who has been in the news for his clashes with prominent political figures and other controversies, to be held in judicial custody until December 23rd.
Amitabh Thakur, a 1992 batch Indian Police Service officer, served in the Uttar Pradesh Police Service until 2021. He is also the president of a political party called Adhikar Sena. His party fielded several candidates in assembly elections, none of whom won. He has often faced difficulties due to his criticism of the government. He has had numerous accounts of his clashes with political leaders, including a highly-publicized recording of his conversation with former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. This was in 2015, when Mulayam Singh Yadav’s son, Akhilesh Yadav, was the Chief Minister. Mr. Thakur had accused Mulayam Singh Yadav of threatening him, and following a court order, an FIR was filed. Mr. Thakur was then suspended.
He has also been at odds with the current Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath. Amitabh Thakur was forcibly retired in 2021 during the Yogi Adityanath administration. He was then the Inspector General of the UP Police. He made headlines for writing “Forcefully Retired Officer” on the nameplate of his house.
Criminal cases have been filed against former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur before as well. Although this latest incident involving his arrest dates back to 1999, when Amitabh Thakur was the police chief of Deoria district, the FIR was filed in September 2025.
Case against Amitabh Thakur:
According to a complaint filed by Sanjay Sharma, a resident of Rajajipuram, Lucknow, at the Talkatora police station, Amitabh Thakur’s wife, Nutan Thakur, obtained an allotment of industrial plot number B-2 at the District Industries Center, Deoria, using the name “Nutan Devi,” her husband’s fake name “Abhijat/Abhitap Thakur,” and a fake address in Sitamarhi, Bihar. The complaint alleges that several fraudulent documents, including application forms, affidavits, treasury challans, and transfer deeds, were created to defraud the government department.
Police say that as the district police chief at the time, Amitabh Thakur allegedly misused his official position to facilitate and protect the fraudulent allotment. The plot was later sold using the Thakur couple’s real identities, leaving government departments, banks, and other stakeholders “deceived for years.” Based on this complaint, an FIR under sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 34, and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Talkatora police station on 12 September 2025.
Lucknow West Deputy Commissioner Vishwajeet Srivastava formed a Special Investigation Team , led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Rajkumar Singh , to investigate the case . Police said that after conducting a thorough investigation in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, recording witness statements, and gathering evidence, the arrest was made. He was arrested at the Sitapur-Maholi border. Since the entire case is related to Deoria, Mr. Thakur was produced in the Deoria court on Wednesday.
This is what Nutan Thakur has to say:
Nutan Thakur, wife of former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, is a lawyer and social activist. She says her husband was traveling to Delhi by train. In Shahjahanpur, some men in plain clothes boarded the train at midnight and took him away. Initially, reports surfaced that Amitabh Thakur had been kidnapped. Later, Lucknow police informed Nutan Thakur on phone that Amitabh Thakur had been arrested. Meanwhile, Nutan Thakur claims that this was a simple civil dispute that has been shaped into a criminal case.
