Kottayam (Kerala), Sep 17 (IANS) A court in Kerala’s Kottayam on Thursday convicted former Kerala Director General of Police Tomin J. Thachankary, once regarded as one of the most influential and controversial officers in the state police, in a disproportionate assets case that had remained pending for nearly two decades and sentenced him to four years’ rigorous imprisonment.
The Kottayam Vigilance Court also imposed a fine of Rs 30,84,892 on Thachankary.
With the sentence being four years, Thachankary cannot seek bail from any lower court and will have to approach the Kerala High Court for relief.
The sentence was pronounced by Kottayam Vigilance Court Judge K.V. Rajneesh, hours after the court found Thachankary guilty of accumulating assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Thachankary becomes only the second IPS officer in Kerala to be sentenced to imprisonment.
The first was retired Inspector General of Police Lakshmana, who was convicted in a firing case.
Thachankary becomes the first Kerala IPS officer to retire from the rank of Director General of Police and subsequently be sentenced to imprisonment
. The case relates to the period between January 2003 and July 2007, when the Vigilance alleged that Thachankary had accumulated assets 135.80 per cent in excess of his known sources of income.
The agency had quantified the disproportionate assets at Rs 64.70 lakh.
The Vigilance registered the case in 2007 following allegations that Thachankary had acquired houses, flats and other properties disproportionate to his known income.
The investigation was completed, and the charge sheet was filed in 2013.
Thachankary had challenged the proceedings and sought discharge, contending that some of the properties had come to him through family partition and gifts.
The court rejected his plea and proceeded with the trial.
The trial assumed particular significance because Thachankary continued to rise through the police hierarchy while the Vigilance investigation was underway.
He had become Additional Director General of Police by the time the charge sheet was filed and later rose to the rank of DGP before retiring in 2023.
The Public Prosecutor described Thursday’s verdict as a significant one, pointing out the difficulties faced by the investigating officers when the accused was a serving senior police officer.
“It was a tough time for the then investigating officers, who were Deputy Superintendents of Police, as the accused was a serving ADGP,” the Public Prosecutor said.
He said Thachankary would be taken to Thiruvananthapuram Central Jail and that Vigilance Department officials would complete the necessary procedures.
When the court asked Thachankary whether he had anything to say before sentencing, he referred to his health condition and told the court that he had suffered chest pain two days ago and was physically unwell.
The defence produced medical documents and sought maximum leniency.
The prosecution, however, sought the maximum punishment.
The verdict brings a major judicial setback to an officer who held several key posts in the Kerala Police and was once considered close to the top political leadership of the state.
The case, which began when he was a senior serving officer, has now ended with his conviction and imprisonment after almost two decades.
–IANS
sg/vd