Kottayam, September 17, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A Kottayam Vigilance Court on Thursday convicted former Kerala Director General of Police Tomin J. Thachankary in a disproportionate assets case dating back nearly two decades and sentenced him to four years of rigorous imprisonment.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 30,84,892 on Thachankary. The sentence was pronounced by Kottayam Vigilance Court Judge K.V. Rajneesh hours after the court found him guilty of accumulating assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Since the sentence is four years, Thachankary will have to approach the Kerala High Court for bail or other relief rather than seeking it from a lower court.
The case relates to the period between January 2003 and July 2007, during which the Vigilance Department alleged that Thachankary accumulated assets 135.80 per cent above his known sources of income. The agency quantified the alleged 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, arguing that some of the properties had come to him through family partition and gifts. The court rejected his plea and allowed the trial to proceed.
The case assumed significance as Thachankary continued to rise through the police hierarchy while the investigation was pending. He was an Additional Director General of Police when the charge sheet was filed and later became DGP before retiring in 2023.
Thachankary is 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. He is also the first Kerala IPS officer to retire as a DGP and subsequently receive a prison sentence.
The Public Prosecutor described Thursday’s verdict as significant, referring to the difficulties faced by investigators when Thachankary 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.
The prosecution sought the maximum punishment, while the defence requested leniency citing Thachankary’s health. When given an opportunity to speak before sentencing, he told the court that he had suffered chest pain two days earlier and was physically unwell. The defence also produced medical documents.
Following the sentencing, Thachankary is to be taken to Thiruvananthapuram Central Jail, with Vigilance officials completing the necessary procedures.
The conviction brings the long-running case to an end after almost two decades, dating from its registration in 2007.
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