Former Kerala DGP Tomin Thachankary convicted in disproportionate assets case

Kottayam (Kerala), Sep 17
Former Kerala Director General of Police (DGP) Tomin J. Thachankary, once regarded as one of the state's most influential police officers, was on Thursday convicted by the Kottayam Vigilance Court in a disproportionate assets case that has been pending for nearly two decades. The court is expected to pronounce the sentence later in the day.

The verdict marks a significant turn in the career of an officer who occupied several key positions in the Kerala Police and rose to the rank of DGP. The court found him guilty of accumulating assets disproportionate to his known sources of income during the period from January 2003 to July 2007. He retired from service in 2023.

According to the Vigilance case, Thachankary had accumulated assets 135.80 per cent in excess of his known sources of income during the period under scrutiny. The agency had quantified the disproportionate assets at Rs 64.70 lakh.

While the investigation traced documents relating to his expenditure and assets, the prosecution maintained that he could not satisfactorily establish the source of the corresponding income.

The Vigilance registered the case in 2007 following a complaint alleging that Thachankary had acquired houses, flats and other properties disproportionate to his income while in service. The investigation was completed and the charge sheet filed in 2013.

Thachankary had challenged the case and sought discharge, contending that some of the properties had come to him through family partition and gifts. The court rejected the plea and held that the prosecution case was maintainable.

The trial involved the examination of a large number of witnesses, including a former Joint Secretary of the Home Department. The defence examined a former Additional Chief Secretary, a former ADGP, Income Tax officials and others.

With the court finding him guilty, the focus has now shifted to the quantum of sentence.

When asked whether he had anything to say, Thachankary cited his health condition and told the court that he had suffered chest pain two days ago and was physically unwell.

The defence produced documents relating to his health and sought maximum leniency. The prosecution, however, sought the maximum punishment.

The case had acquired added attention because Thachankary continued to rise through the police hierarchy even as the Vigilance investigation progressed. He had become ADGP by the time the charge sheet was filed and subsequently reached the DGP rank.

The verdict thus closes one long chapter in the career of one of Kerala Police's most prominent and controversial officers, while the court is now set to decide the punishment.