Former Kerala police chief convicted for accumulating disproportionate assets during service

A Vigilance Court in Kottayam convicted former Director General of Police Tomin J. Thachankary on Thursday in a case relating to disproportionate assets accumulated during his service. The court will announce the quantum of sentence at 2 p.m..

Before sentencing, Thachankary told the court he had experienced chest pain two days ago and was not keeping well.

Case Background

The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had registered the case in 2007, alleging that Thachankary amassed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income between 2003 and 2007 when he was in service. He retired as DGP in 2023.

The investigation found that his assets were around 135% in excess of his known sources of income.

Prosecution's Case

The prosecution alleged that Thachankary could not satisfactorily account for the source of the additional assets, while the Vigilance was able to trace documents relating to the expenditure incurred. The Vigilance filed the chargesheet in 2013.

Several alleged irregularities had also surfaced against Thachankary, who was an Additional Director General of Police at the time.

The conviction marks the culmination of a nearly two-decade-long investigation into the financial affairs of one of Keralam's senior-most police officers during a critical period of his service.

Source: The Hindu