NEW DELHI – The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Wednesday that it will pay ₹2 lakh to anyone who would help them catch two police officials from Madhya Pradesh who have been on the run. In the Guna district, Inspector Sanjit Singh Mavai and Assistant Sub-Inspector Uttam Singh Kushwaha are the main suspects in a case of a death in custody.
The CBI’s declaration comes barely one day after a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court said it was unhappy with the agency’s failure to find the personnel. While hearing a contempt plea from the mother of the dead, Deva Pardi, Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan made the comment.
A spokesperson for the CBI said in a statement that the prize was offered to “gather leads to locate and apprehend both the accused” and to “motivate the general public for providing credible information.” The spokesperson also said that both cops had been given non-bailable warrants and were now known as “Proclaimed Offenders.”
What Happened in the Death of Deva Pardi
The case goes back to July 15, 2025, when police detained Deva Pardi, a 25-year-old man from Bilakhedi, in connection with a theft. He was arrested right before he was going to go for his wedding in a nearby community. Later, the family was told that Pardi had been sent to the district hospital for an autopsy.
At first, the police said that Pardi died of a “cardiac arrest” while he was in jail, but his family said that he was tortured to death while he was in jail. In protest, the woman he was about to marry even tried to kill herself outside the police station.
The Supreme Court ordered a CBI investigation into the death on May 15 after Deva’s mother filed a plea. The CBI has arrested three people so far in connection with the case: Sub-Inspector Devraj Singh Parihar, Town Inspector Zubair Khan, and a private citizen. The two police officers who are still at large are seen to be very important to the inquiry.