A Vigilance court in Kottayam has sentenced retired Kerala DGP Tomin J Thachankary to four years of rigorous imprisonment and fined him over Rs 30 lakh for amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income between 2003 and 2007. Special judge K V Rajanish delivered the verdict, noting that higher public offices carry a greater obligation to maintain integrity. Following the sentencing, Thachankary was moved to Poojappura Central Jail in Thiruvananthapuram and has filed an appeal before the Kerala High Court.
The prosecution stems from a complaint lodged in 1990 by a family from Alappuzha, where Thachankary was then posted as an assistant superintendent of police. The complainant described a decades-long legal battle and stated that further allegations covering the period up to Thachankary’s retirement will be pursued separately, including a planned fresh complaint regarding subsequent years.
According to available reports, this marks the first instance in the state of an officer holding the rank of Director General of Police being sentenced in a disproportionate assets case. Anti-corruption campaigners in the state have welcomed the verdict as a rare instance of accountability for a senior police officer.