Kottayam: The Kottayam Vigilance Court has sentenced former DGP Tomin J. Thachankary to four years of rigorous imprisonment in a disproportionate assets case. The sentence was pronounced in a case regarding the accumulation of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income while holding an official position. The court also ordered him to pay a fine of Rs 30,84,892. Since the sentence exceeds three years, he will naturally have to serve time in prison and may be shifted to the Thiruvananthapuram Central Jail. The Vigilance Court had earlier found him guilty in the case.


The investigation was completed and the charge sheet was filed in 2013. The Vigilance Court completed the proceedings based on a High Court directive to complete the trial in a time-bound manner. The case was that he had amassed disproportionate assets worth Rs 64.70 lakh during his official tenure from January 2003 to July 2007. Although the vigilance probe found expenses amounting to this figure, Thachankary was unable to account for the income to match it.


The investigation team found that Thachankary had accumulated assets exceeding his income by 135.80 percent during the period under review. After Thachankary was promoted to DIG in 2007, the investigation was led by a DySP. By the time the charge sheet was submitted, Thachankary had been elevated to the post of Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) in the state.


The prosecution examined several witnesses, including a former Joint Secretary of the Home Department. The defense examined witnesses including a former Additional Chief Secretary, a former Additional DGP, Income Tax officials, and Thachankary's sister. The investigation was initiated based on a complaint filed by Bobby Kuruvila, alleging that Thachankary had acquired houses, flats, and properties disproportionate to his income while in service.


Earlier, the court had dismissed a discharge petition filed by Tomin J. Thachankary, which sought to drop the case on the grounds that the properties were received as family inheritance and as gifts, ruling that the charge sheet was sustainable. Although the High Court had directed the Vigilance Court to pronounce the verdict before June 30, it was later extended to September 30. During the trial, Thachankary's arrival at the Kottayam Vigilance Court in a private car bearing a three-star official board, which he used while in office, had sparked a controversy.


The case was heard by Kottayam Inquiry Commissioner and Special Judge (Vigilance) K.V. Rejneesh. Vigilance Public Prosecutor Adv. K.K. Sreekanth appeared for the prosecution.