IPS officer Amitabh Thakur found 'not guilty' in DA case
Lucknow, Sep 13: After more than three years of investigation against senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Amitabh Thakur, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has found him "not guilty" in a disproportionate assets (DA) case, an official said on Thursday.
Investigating Officer, Superintendent of Police (EOW) D.P.N. Pandey, found in his investigation that total earnings of Amitabh between 1992 and 2015 was Rs 1.30 crore, while the value of his total assets and expenditure was Rs 90 lakh -- much lower than his earnings.
The EOW also found that Amitabh's wife and activist Nutan Thakur had been financially independent and her earnings during this period was Rs 92 lakh, while her total assets and expenditure was valued at Rs 90 lakh.
So, the EOW recommended closure of the DA case against Amitabh.
The then Samajwadi Party (SP) government had filed a slew of cases against the IPS officer, two days after he filed a complaint on July 11, 2015 against Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's father Mulayam Singh.
The state government initiated a vigilance inquiry against Amitabh, which concluded its probe in less than two months on September 4, 2015, declaring Thakur guilty of owning disproportionate assets.
On September 16, 2015, an FIR (No 746/2015) under Section 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered, which was transferred to the EOW on the orders of Allahabad High Court.
Following delay in investigation, Amitabh had approached the high court which directed completion of investigation in 10 weeks.
Later, he again knocked at the doors of high court over non-compliance of its orders, to which the court issued a contempt notice against the Investigation Officer.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
