UP govt issues chargesheet against IPS officer Amitabh Thakur

Suspended IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, who had lodged a complaint against SP Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav for allegedly threatening him, was today slapped with a chargesheet by UP government accusing him of dereliction of duty, anti-establishment approach and flouting court orders.

The officer, who has been charged with indiscipline and indulging in anti-government activities, said he would submit his reply "on each of the 15 counts soon". Thakur said he would move court in a day or two seeking a CBI inquiry into all developments after his wife Nutan Thakur, who is an RTI activist, lodged a complaint against mining minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati to the lokayukta.

Thakur was suspended on July 13 by the Akhilesh Yadav government hours after he had approached the Union Home Ministry in Delhi seeking a CBI probe into the rape charges filed against him after he lodged a complaint against Mulayam for allegedly threatening him.

The state home department prepared the charge sheet and handed it over to Director General, Civil Defence, Kamlendra Prasad, an official spokesman said today.

Thakur was IG Civil Defence posted here at the time of his suspension.

During the suspension period, Thakur will remain attached to the DGP office and will not leave the headquarters without prior permission, he said.

The state home department spokesman said government has charged Thakur with violating court orders.

"In its order passed on April 9,2014, the court had stated that the petitioner (Amitabh Thakur) is serving as an IPS officer and is bound by the rules of conduct. As a serving IPS officer he is on duty 24 hours. The court had observed that he may not be allowed to take up public causes which do not concern him and in which the state may be involved directly or indirectly.

"In clear violation of the high court order, Thakur continued to file PIls in the court. He filed over two dozen PIls in the court on various issues," he said, adding the state was directly involved in several of them.

"This clearly shows that Thakur indulged in gross indiscipline and was acting according to his whims and fancies. He was also busy using his resources and time in anti-government activities," the spokesman said.

When contacted, Thakur told PTI, "I have received the charge sheet and will be obeying government orders. I will be joining the DGP office tomorrow."

Thakur had gone to New Delhi to meet officials of the Union Home Ministry seeking security for himself and his wife and returned to the state capital today.

To a question on his future course of action, Thakur said, "I  will be presenting my reply on each of the 15 counts soon."

The IG rank official, who had released the text and audio of the conversation purportedly carrying Mulayam Singh Yadav's voice, said he will submit a CD to the investigating officer today itself asking him to register FIR.

"But I will be submitting the original telephone record only before the magistrate as I fear that it might be tampered with," Thakur said.

He had yesterday described Prajapati as a blue eyed boy of Mulayam Singh Yadav and alleged that the threatening phone call had been made only after a case was registered against the minister on his wife's complaint.

The state government has also charged Thakur with misuse of government money during study leave from June 10, 2009 to February 17, 2011.

"He was enrolled in IIM-lucknow but left the institute without completing the course. Yet, he allegedly drew salary and allowance in violation of service rules.

"The state government detected discrepancies in the annual declaration of assets made by Thakur from the year 1992 to 2010. He did not give details of his movable and immovable properties purchased or sold by him during the period. It’s violation of Rule 16 of India Services (Conduct) Rules 1968," the spokesman said.

Thakur has also been charged with making derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi on the social media site Facebook and in violation of service rules, visiting Shahjahanpur after the death of journalist Jagendra Singh.

He addressed a press conference and attacked the state government as well on the issue. He also joined an anti-government campaign launched by the Valmiki community in Rampur.

The state government has also charged Thakur with holding a press conference in Allahabad over a shoot-out in court in which a lawyer was killed. He met the wife of sub-inspector Shailendra Singh, an accused in the case, and assured her all assistance.

Thakur staged a dharna near the office of the Director General of Police on June 19. The next day, he addressed a press conference in Dehradun against the DGP of Uttarakhand.

On several occasions, he misguided senior officers about his outstation visits, it was charged.

On December 19, 2012, he told senior officers that he was going to Delhi for personal work but he attended the meeting of an NGO Maulik Bharat in Noida, it was alleged.

The state government has charged Thakur with making baseless statements in the media over the working of various departments and the district administration, the spokesman added.