Ex-Keralam DGP gets four years' RI in disproportionate assets case

In Keralam, a court on Thursday sentenced former state DGP Tomin J Thachankary to four years of rigorous imprisonment in a case related to amassing wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income. This is the first case in Keralam in which an officer of DGP rank has been sentenced for possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. Kottayam Vigilance Court judge K V Rajanish found Thachankary guilty under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 30.84 lakh on the former IPS officer. The court ordered Thachankary to be shifted to Poojapura Central Jail in Thiruvananthapuram where he can approach the Kerala High Court with an appeal against the verdict. During the final hearing, Thachankary requested that the court consider his health condition while pronouncing the sentence.
The prosecution, however, submitted that no leniency should be shown considering the post he had held. As many as 96 prosecution witnesses and 271 documents were examined during the trial, while 23 defence witnesses were examined and 55 defence documents were marked. The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) Special Cell, Ernakulam, had
registered the case against Thachankary for allegedly amassing wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.
According to the prosecution, the VACB investigation found expenditure amounting to Rs 64.70 lakh for which Thachankary could not account for corresponding sources of income. The investigation team found that he had allegedly acquired assets 135.80 per cent in excess of his known sources of income during the period between 2003 and 2007. 
The case was registered following a complaint by Bobby Kuruvila, alleging that Thachankary had acquired houses, flats and properties disproportionate to his known sources of income. The chargesheet was initially filed in 2013 before the Thrissur Vigilance Court. The case was later transferred from the Muvattupuzha Vigilance Court to Kottayam.