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Former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Amitabh Thakur, long known for his confrontations with successive governments in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested on Wednesday (December 10) in connection with an alleged 1999 industrial plot fraud case.
The Lucknow Police detained him from Sitapur following a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into accusations of forging documents to secure a plot in Deoria more than two decades ago, according to The Indian Express (IE).
Arrest in a 26-year-old case
Thakur was taken into custody around 3:45 am at the Maholi border after being intercepted earlier by Shahjahanpur Police while travelling by train to Delhi, police officials said, as per The Hindustan Times (HT). He was later produced before a Deoria court and remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody.
The case stems from an FIR filed in September 2025 at Lucknow’s Talkatora police station. As per IE, complainant Sanjay Sharma alleged that Thakur, then serving as Deoria Superintendent of Police, facilitated the allotment of Industrial Plot No. B-2 at the District Industries Centre in his wife Nutan’s name using fabricated identities, forged documents and a false Bihar address.
The SIT reviewed old records, examined witnesses and verified alleged fake details before concluding that sufficient material existed to proceed, as per HT.
"A 26-year-old matter, which is essentially a normal civil dispute, is now being forcibly turned into a criminal case. This FIR has been lodged under pressure. I will soon present evidence and prove our innocence," Nutan Thakur told Hindustan Times while reacting to the arrest.
A career marked by frequent clashes
Thakur’s career has frequently been overshadowed by controversy. He was suspended in 2015 after accusing then Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav of “threatening” him, though he was reinstated the following year, as per IE.
In 2021, the Union Home Ministry compulsorily retired him “in public interest”.
Later in 2021, he was arrested in a separate case involving allegations of abetment of suicide linked to a rape complainant and her associate, before securing bail in 2022, as per HT.
After retirement, Thakur announced the formation of a political outfit, Adhikar Sena, though he ultimately did not contest the UP Assembly polls in 2022.
The Lucknow Police detained him from Sitapur following a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into accusations of forging documents to secure a plot in Deoria more than two decades ago, according to The Indian Express (IE).
Arrest in a 26-year-old case
Thakur was taken into custody around 3:45 am at the Maholi border after being intercepted earlier by Shahjahanpur Police while travelling by train to Delhi, police officials said, as per The Hindustan Times (HT). He was later produced before a Deoria court and remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody.
The case stems from an FIR filed in September 2025 at Lucknow’s Talkatora police station. As per IE, complainant Sanjay Sharma alleged that Thakur, then serving as Deoria Superintendent of Police, facilitated the allotment of Industrial Plot No. B-2 at the District Industries Centre in his wife Nutan’s name using fabricated identities, forged documents and a false Bihar address.
The SIT reviewed old records, examined witnesses and verified alleged fake details before concluding that sufficient material existed to proceed, as per HT.
"A 26-year-old matter, which is essentially a normal civil dispute, is now being forcibly turned into a criminal case. This FIR has been lodged under pressure. I will soon present evidence and prove our innocence," Nutan Thakur told Hindustan Times while reacting to the arrest.
A career marked by frequent clashes
Thakur’s career has frequently been overshadowed by controversy. He was suspended in 2015 after accusing then Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav of “threatening” him, though he was reinstated the following year, as per IE.
In 2021, the Union Home Ministry compulsorily retired him “in public interest”.
Later in 2021, he was arrested in a separate case involving allegations of abetment of suicide linked to a rape complainant and her associate, before securing bail in 2022, as per HT.
After retirement, Thakur announced the formation of a political outfit, Adhikar Sena, though he ultimately did not contest the UP Assembly polls in 2022.
