Amitabh Thakur

Amitabh Thakur (born 16 June 1968) is an ex-Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and a political activist. He was forced to undergo compulsory retirement in March 2021. During service, Amitabh was known for his strict adherence to rules and regulations as well as for his work in the field of administrative accountability.

Since retirement, Amitabh works as a social and political activist. He is currently the President of Azad Adhikar Sena. Azad Adhikar Sena was initiated by him, his wife Dr Nutan Thakur, and others.

Early life

Amitabh Thakur was born on 16 June 1968 at Muzaffarpur, Bihar to Tapeshwar Narain Thakur, an Electrical Engineer and Madhuri Bala, a lecturer in Hindi. He was brought up in Bokaro Steel City in present-day Jharkhand (then a part of Bihar), where he got his Matriculation and Intermediate degree from Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1, Bokaro Steel City, in 1983 and 1985 respectively. He enrolled in IIT Kanpur in 1985, where he obtained his BTech degree in mechanical engineering in 1989.

Police career

Amitabh was commissioned in the Indian Police Service in 1992.

Clash with Akhilesh Yadav government

Amitabh Thakur had his third set of direct altercations with Government in 2014–2017. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav was the Chief Minister at that time. In December 2014, Thakur's wife Dr Nutan Thakur filed a complaint against the state's mining minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, before the Lok Ayukta (anti-corruption ombudsman). She alleged that the minister was involved in illegal mining activities. Thakur approached the Central Government, seeking protection for his family.

On 10 July 2015, Amitabh got a phone call from Mulayam Singh Yadav. He alleged that Yadav had threatened him over the phone call. He released the audio of the phone call, in which Yadav is allegedly heard saying certain sentences of threatening nature: Thakur alleged that Mulayam Singh was unhappy about the complaint lodged by his wife Nutan against the state minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati.

Later Investigations were held in both the rape case and Disproportionate assets case. During investigation, both the charges proved to be incorrect. In the rape case, the Police not only exonerated Thakur, it also charged the complainant of registering a false FIR. Similarly, in the Disproportionate assets case, the investigating agency concluded that the charges were incorrect and Thakur had property much lesser than his known sources of income.

Clash with Yogi Adityanath government

Amitabh Thakur also had direct altercations during the rule of Bhartiya Janata Party Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. There was a history of previous conflicts between the two. Amitabh had previously been posted in and around Yogi Adityanath's place of activity, Gorakhpur. The two had many altercations during Thakur's posting as Superintendent of Police in Deoria, Basti and Maharajganj districts. In 2007 Yogi Adityanath was arrested on serious charges related with hate speech and disturbance of law and order. This had led to riots in and around Gorakhpur, including in Maharajganj. Hindu Yuva Vahini of Yogi Adityanath was generally believed to be the force behind these law and order disturbances. Amitabh had taken extremely stern action during these riots. After coming out of jail, Yogi Adityanath had threatened Thakur of dire consequences. There was a 1999 murder case against Yogi Adityanath related with Pachrukhiya in Maharajganj. A Policeman had also been murdered in this case. Yogi Adityanath was a named accused in this case. The case had long been pending with CID. It got transferred to Maharajganj at the same time when Amitabh Thakur was SP Maharajganj. The moment Amitabh initiated its enquiry, he got immense pressure from various powerful corners. He continued his investigation but got transferred midway.

Compulsory Retirement

It was with this background that Yogi Adityanath government recommended compulsory retirement of Amitabh Thakur and Amitabh was given compulsory retirement in March 2021, even though seven years of his tenure were outstanding. When Amitabh sought information about this retirement from Ministry of Home Affairs, it denied the information. Amitabh has challenged this retirement in Central Administrative Tribunal Lucknow bench, where the matter is currently pending.

2026 Supreme Court Order

In June 2026, the Supreme Court directed the Ministry of Home Affairs and Uttar Pradesh Government to complete the four Departmental Enquiries against Thakur within a period of 06 months. The order came in a 2017 Appeal preferred by the State Government against a Allahabad High Court order quashing the appointment of Enquiry Officer.

In the Supreme Court, Thakur argued that his Enquiries were being kept pending for last 10 years, resulting in suffering and loss.

Arrest

In August 2021, Amitabh announced that he would be contesting forthcoming Assembly elections against Yogi Adityanath. Almost immediately after this, he was arrested in August 2021. He was granted bail in March 2022 and came out of jail on bail almost immediately after the Assembly result.

In December 2025, the Lucknow police commissionerate arrested Amitabh Thakur for allegedly abusing his position as superintendent of police of Deoria in 1999 to fraudulently secure an industrial plot in the name of his wife through forged identities and fabricated documents.

He got bail in this matter on 19 January and came out of Deoria Jail on 11 February 2026.

Activism

All through his career as a Police officer, Amitabh Thakur remained a pro-poor, activism oriented person, which often resulted in his direct confrontations with various Governments. He was the founder of the National RTI Forum, a grassroots anti-corruption organisation in India that advocates for government openness under the terms of the 2005 Right to Information Act. The organisation is based in Lucknow. He had also formed Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS), a human rights organisation. Facebook banned the group a couple of days later. Amitabh Thakur and his wife Nutan have filed over 500 RTI applications and 150 Public Interest Litigations (PILs). A number of PILs filed by the Thakurs resulted in action.

As a writer

Thakur has authored a story book in Hindi, Dhal Gayi Raat, and has compiled two collections of poems Jaisa Maine Jana Hai and Aatmadarsh.

Azad Adhikar Sena

Azad Adhikar Sena (आजाद अधिकार सेना in Hindi), also known by its short name AAS (आस in Hindi), is an unregistered political party in India, which is presently undergoing the process of registration before the Election Commission of India.

In June 2022, the formation of Adhikar Sena was again announced. Currently, the Party is in process of getting registered in Election Commission of India.

The Basic philosophy of Azad Adhikar Sena is Belief in Democratic Values and Constitution of India and Belief in Power of the Individual (Aam Nagrik ka Adhikar).

After its formation, Azad Adhikar Sena has been expanding and working in various areas of India, with particular focus on Uttar Pradesh. It has been making its presence felt through various interventions.

Personal life

Amitabh Thakur is married to political and social activist Dr Nutan Thakur. His brother is Avinash Kumar, an IAS officer in Jharkhand.

Amitabh has two children – a daughter named Tanaya and a son named Aditya, both law graduates. While Tanaya graduated from National Law University Patna, Aditya graduated from National Law University Lucknow. Tanaya is married to Vineet Kumar, an Indian Foreign Service officer.