Former DGP Tomin Thachankary found guilty in disproportionate assets case

FORMER Kerala Director General of Police (DGP) Tomin J. Thachankary has been found guilty in a long-pending disproportionate assets case by the Kottayam Vigilance Court.

Vigilance Court Judge K. V. Rajaneesh found Thachankary guilty of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income during the period from January 1, 2003, to July 7, 2007.

According to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), Thachankary had accumulated assets and incurred expenditure of approximately ₹64.70 lakh that could not be satisfactorily accounted for against his known sources of income.

The investigation reportedly assessed the assets as 135.80 per cent disproportionate to his known income during the period under investigation.

The case originated from a complaint alleging that Thachankary had acquired houses, flats, land and other assets beyond what could be justified by his legitimate income.

The Vigilance investigation was initiated in 2007, and a chargesheet was filed in 2013. The case was subsequently transferred between Vigilance courts before finally being tried in Kottayam.

Thachankary had maintained that some of the assets under scrutiny were inherited family properties and had challenged the proceedings, seeking further investigation. His legal challenges before the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court did not stop the trial.

The trial involved extensive evidence. According to PTI, 95 prosecution witnesses and 269 prosecution documents were examined, while the defence examined 23 witnesses and produced 55 documents.

The Vigilance prosecution has sought a stringent punishment. Before sentencing, Thachankary asked the court to consider his health condition, stating that he had experienced chest pain two days earlier.

The verdict marks the conclusion of a legal battle that has continued for nearly two decades, beginning with the Vigilance proceedings initiated during Thachankary's tenure as a senior police officer.