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CBI announces reward of ₹2 lakh each for info on 2 MP cops in custodial death
The agency said non-bailable warrants have already been issued against the two officers and they have been declared ‘Proclaimed Offenders
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday announced a reward of ₹2 lakh each for information leading to the arrest of two Madhya Pradesh police officers who are on the run in connection with the custody death case in Guna district.
The CBI’s offer comes just a day after a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court pulled up the agency for its inability to track down the two police officers, inspector Sanjit Singh Mavai and assistant sub-inspector Uttam Singh Kushwaha. The bench of justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan made the observation on Tuesday while hearing a contempt plea of the mother of Deva Pardi, the 24-year-old victim.
A CBI spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday - “In order to gather leads to locate and apprehend both the accused Sanjit Singh Mavai (inspector) and Uttam Singh Kushwaha (assistant sub-inspector) and to motivate general public for providing credible information about the accused persons a cash reward of ₹2 Lakh against each of them has been declared by CBI.”
CBI said non-bailable warrants were already issued against the two officers earlier and they have been declared ‘Proclaimed Offenders’.
On July 15, 2025, Deva Pardi (25), a resident of Bilakhedi, was arrested by police in connection with a theft case when he was about to leave for his wedding in a neighbouring village. Late in the night, the family received information from the district hospital that a Pardhi youth had been brought for autopsy.
On reaching the hospital, the family found that Deva had died in custody.
At the time, police had claimed that he was taken into custody in connection with a theft of ₹8 lakh and that Deva Pardhi died due to a cardiac arrest.
His family alleged that he was tortured to death in custody. The woman Deva Pardhi was to marry attempted to die by suicide outside the police station and was later admitted to the Guna district hospital.
Later, Deva’s mother filed a petition in the Supreme Court which ordered a CBI probe on May 15.
CBI has so far arrested three persons including sub-inspector Devraj Singh Parihar, Town Inspector Zubair Khan and a private person in the case.
