Retired DGP Tomin Thachankary sentenced to four years in disproportionate assets case
Retired DGP Tomin J. Thachankary gets four years in prison and a ₹30.84 lakh fine in a 2007 disproportionate assets case; he is expected to appeal.
A Vigilance court in Kottayam on Thursday sentenced retired Director General of Police Tomin J. Thachankary to four years in prison in a disproportionate assets case that dates back nearly two decades. Judge K.V. Rejanish, presiding over the Court of Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge (Vigilance), also imposed a fine of ₹30.84 lakh on the former police chief.
The court had earlier in the day convicted Thachankary of accumulating assets disproportionate to his known sources of income during the period from January 1, 2003 to July 7, 2007. After the sentence was pronounced, he was to be moved to the Thiruvananthapuram Central Jail. He is expected to challenge the verdict in the Kerala High Court within 30 days.
Before the sentence was delivered, Thachankary told the court that he had suffered chest pain two days earlier and was unwell.
Case background
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), which registered the case in 2007 when Thachankary was promoted as Deputy Inspector General, alleged in its chargesheet that he had amassed assets worth ₹64 lakh beyond his known sources of income. The investigation put his assets at 135% higher than his known income. The chargesheet was filed in 2013.
The case was first heard by the Thrissur Vigilance Court and later moved to the Muvattupuzha Vigilance Court before being transferred to the Kottayam Vigilance Court. Thachankary retired as DGP in 2023.
Legal challenges and trial
Thachankary had approached the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court seeking a reinvestigation into the allegations. Both courts dismissed his pleas, clearing the way for the trial to proceed. During the trial, he also sought discharge from the case, arguing that the assets under scrutiny were ancestral properties inherited from his parents. The court rejected that contention.
The prosecution examined several witnesses, including a former Joint Secretary of the Home Department. Among those who deposed for the defence were a former Additional Chief Secretary, a former Additional DGP, Income Tax officials and Thachankary's sister.
The investigation was set in motion by a complaint from Bobby Kuruvila, who alleged that Thachankary had accumulated houses, flats, properties and other assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. Public Prosecutor K.K. Sreekanth appeared for the prosecution.