Kerala High Court questions ex-DGP Thachankary’s Dubai job plea, warns of bail cancellation
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Kochi: The Kerala High Court has sharply criticised former Director General of Police Tomin J. Thachankary for seeking permission to travel abroad for work after spending his entire custody period in a jail hospital, and warned that his bail could be cancelled if the court found his conduct unacceptable.
Justice A. Badharudeen questioned how Thachankary could claim serious ill-health while in custody and then seek to take up employment in Dubai after release. The judge said medical records showed that he had remained in hospital for all four weeks he spent in custody and had not spent a single day in regular jail.
“He has been admitted to the hospital from the date of admission till the date of release. He has not been in jail even for a day. Nicely stayed in the hospital. There he has 1,000 ailments. Now, no ailments. Wants to go to Dubai and do a job. How can it be? Don’t repeat lies before the court,” the judge observed.
The court said such a contrast between the health claims made during custody and the request to work abroad could not be accepted at face value. It indicated that it might consider cancelling the bail granted to him and posted the matter for further hearing.
Thachankary was convicted by the Kottayam Vigilance Court on September 17 for possessing assets disproportionate to his known income between 2003 and 2007. The court sentenced him to four years of rigorous imprisonment and fined him Rs 30.84 lakh, finding that the disproportionate assets amounted to 52.33 per cent of his known income.
He was the first former Kerala police officer of DGP rank to be imprisoned after a criminal conviction. On October 15, the High Court suspended his sentence and granted bail pending appeal, subject to conditions including depositing 75 per cent of the fine and executing a bail bond with sureties.
Thachankary later sought relaxation of his bail conditions to travel to the UAE, saying he needed to resume work as an operations manager with a jewellery group in Sharjah.
(Inputs from IANS)