Senior police officer Amitabh Thakur after meeting with Home ministry officials in New Delhi on Monday (Press Trust of India photo)
Senior police officer Amitabh Thakur says he is not surprised that he was suspended last night by the Uttar Pradesh government, but rejects the charges made against him. Mr Thakur has accused Mulayam Singh Yadav, chief of Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party, of threatening him in a phone call.
Mr Thakur said today that he had learnt of his suspension from media reports. "I have never violated any code of conduct. Everyone knows the reason behind this suspension," he said, adding, "I was not criticising the government, but just doing my duty".
A press release issued late on Monday night said Mr Thakur, the state's Inspector General, Civil Defence, stood suspended from his post because he has been "found guilty of arbitrariness, indiscipline, anti-government stance, ignoring the instructions of High Court, ignorance to the obligations and duties associated with his post."
Earlier in the day, UP chief minister and Mulayam Singh's son, Akhilesh Yadav, had said, "When Mulayam Singh Yadav can scold the chief minister, there is nothing wrong in his scolding an official."
Mr Thakur has asked the Centre for protection for him and his wife, Nutan Thakur, an activist who has filed a corruption case against a UP minister. The senior cop has alleged that he is being targeted because his wife filed the case and has also demanded a CBI investigation.
On Saturday, Mr Thakur had alleged that Mulayam Singh told him in a phone conversation, "Sudhar jaiye (you better mend your ways)." He filed a complaint and submitted what he said was an audio recording of the conversation.
Hours later, a rape case was registered against Mr Thakur by the Lucknow police on a complaint filed by a woman more than six months ago. Mr Thakur has questioned the timing and calls it "political vendetta."
"If the government was serious about the complaint, what was it doing all these months," he said to NDTV.
The Samajwadi Party's Gaurav Bhatia said "Sudhar jaaiye" was a rebuke from Mulayam Singh because the police officer "is violating service rules and because his wife is filing numerous petitions against the government. It is not a threat."