Former DGP Tomin Thachankary found guilty in disproportionate assets case

Kottayam: Former DGP Tomin J. Thachankary has been found guilty in a disproportionate assets case. The Kottayam Vigilance Court delivered the verdict after years of legal proceedings.

The court found him guilty of acquiring assets disproportionate to his known sources of income while holding an official position. The case was investigated and the chargesheet filed in 2013. Thachankary was accused of amassing unaccounted assets worth Rs 64.70 lakh between January 2003 and July 2007. The quantum of sentence will be announced at 2pm.

A Vigilance inspection found expenditure amounting to the said sum, but Thachankary could not establish the corresponding sources of income. The investigation team found that he had acquired assets 135.80 per cent above his known income during the period under scrutiny.

The investigation was conducted under a DySP after Thachankary was promoted as a DIG in 2007. By the time the chargesheet was filed, he had been promoted to Additional Director General of Police.

The investigation followed a complaint filed by Bobby Kuruvila alleging that Thachankary had acquired houses, flats and properties disproportionate to his income while in service. The chargesheet was filed before the Thrissur Vigilance Court in 2013. The case was later transferred to the Muvattupuzha Vigilance Court and subsequently to Kottayam.

The Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court had rejected Thachankary’s plea seeking a further investigation into the case. The Vigilance Court subsequently completed the trial.

The Vigilance Court had also rejected Thachankary’s plea seeking to be discharged from the case on the grounds that the assets had been inherited through his parents and were family property.

Vigilance Public Prosecutor K.K. Sreekanth appeared for the prosecution.

During the trial, Thachankary's arrival at the Kottayam Vigilance Court in a private car displaying a board bearing three stars, which he had used while holding an official position, had sparked controversy.