3 cases, 2 agencies in Madhya Pradesh:Geeta of Guna missing 8 years, Atmaram murder case still unsolved, raising questions on justice

The Supreme Court has sharply criticized the CBI and Madhya Pradesh Police for failing to catch two police officers accused of killing Deva Pardi in custody. A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan said that despite the full power of the state and CBI, the officers remain absconding a situation that amounts to contempt of court. The court asked the agencies to provide a written explanation if they are unable to find the officers. The case was heard on September 26. The CBI failed to produce the accused officers before the court. Now, the Supreme Court has given the CBI a final chance, extending the deadline to October 8. The court warned that if the officers are still not caught, the Additional Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh and the CBI’s investigating officer will have to appear in court personally. Guna’s justice system faces repeated scrutiny This is not the first case in Guna where the functioning of prestigious investigative agencies like the Police, CID, and CBI has been questioned. There are two more such cases that even the CBI and CID have failed to solve. In these cases too, the allegations are against police officers. The victims of these cases have been waiting for justice for years. Finally, what are those cases… read the report. Case 1: Geeta missing for eight years despite CBI efforts Geeta has been missing for the last 8 years. Four SITs have been formed to find her, but no one knows whether she is alive or not. Last year in December, the High Court handed over this case to the CBI. Now nine months have passed, there is still no trace of Geeta. Geeta’s father, Gajendra Chandel’s wait for his daughter’s return is getting longer. Actually, on August 1, 2017, at 11 AM, Geeta went to the ration shop to get kerosene. When she did not return for hours, father Gajendra’s worry increased. When he went to look for her, the shop was closed and no one nearby knew anything. The father searched the entire village but found no trace of his daughter. When he reached the police station with hope, the police turned him away. Three SITs investigated, result zero
Police took 10 days to register the report of minor Geeta’s disappearance. The application was taken on August 3 and the FIR was written on August 9. This initial delay set the direction of the case. Instead of searching for the girl, the police merely went through the motions. Two suspects were also apprehended, but released due to lack of evidence. During the investigation, one suspect even confessed that he had raped the minor, then murdered her and thrown the body into the pond, but the police could not gather any concrete evidence on this lead either. Considering the seriousness of the case, three Special Investigation Teams (SITs) were formed, but the result remained zero. Father knocked on the High Court’s door
When trust in the police was lost, the father knocked on the High Court’s door for justice and filed a Habeas Corpus petition. This is where the police’s accountability began to be established. The Gwalior Bench of the High Court showed such strictness in the matter that from the Station House Officer to the then ASP, SP, and IG, everyone had to appear before the court. Following the court’s reprimand, in August 2023, the police had to submit an affidavit presenting a ‘road map’ to deal with such incidents in the future. On the court’s order, 300 police personnel in Gwalior were also given special training for investigating sensitive cases. High Court said – MP Police inefficient and irresponsible
When the court found the police’s attitude irresponsible, the High Court handed over the case to the CBI in December 2024. The court also made strong remarks on the police’s attitude in its decision. The court said- The attitude of MP police in the investigation of this case has been extremely unprofessional. In the last seven years, the court issued orders many times, but the police did not change their irresponsible working style. If the minor is not safe in MP and the police are unable to find her, then there is no option but to transfer the case to the CBI. Along with this, the court also said that the police kept wasting valuable time by only doing paperwork. The police still don’t know whether the girl is alive or not? 9 months have passed since the case was handed over to the CBI. Geeta’s father, Gajendra Chandel, is still waiting for his daughter to return. Whether she will return or not, the country’s largest investigative agency has not yet given any concrete answer. Case 2: 10 years of suspense – Is Atmaram Pardi alive or not?
This is the case in which police were accused of brutality and later the police tried to suppress it. On June 9, 2015, Atmaram Pardi, along with his family, had gone to immerse the ashes of a relative in the Parvati river. Only one case of theft was registered against him, in which he was out on bail. According to the family, when they were in the river, the then SHO of Dharnawada, Ramveer Singh Kushwah, arrived there in his private car with some policemen and informers. They considered Atmaram a suspect in a theft case that occurred in Gurugram. As soon as he saw the police, Atmaram jumped into the river. The family alleges that he was shot. Missing person report filed two years after the incident
Subsequently, two people jumped into the river, caught him in an injured state, and took him away in a car. Police said they were taking him to the hospital, but Atmaram never returned. This is where his mother Appi Bai’s struggle for justice began, which ended with her death. For one and a half years, the police kept misleading the family. In 2016, the station in-charge told Appi Bai that Atmaram had died and he was ready to bear the family’s expenses, but the mother asked for justice instead of money. In January 2017, Appi Bai filed a habeas corpus petition in the High Court. Only after the court’s notice, the police registered Atmaram’s missing person report on March 3, 2017, almost two years after the incident. High Court reprimanded CID, sought status report
In August 2019, the investigation of the case was handed over to the CID, but nothing changed here either. By 2022, the CID team saw more than 10 changes, but the investigation remained stagnant. Meanwhile, in 2020, Appi Bai also passed away while waiting for justice. In December 2022, the High Court once again reprimanded the CID and sought a status report. Following the court’s sternness, the CID sprang into action and finally, after 7 years, acknowledged that Atmaram had died. Sections for murder (IPC 302) and destruction of evidence (IPC 201) were added against accused SI Ramveer Kushwah and others. Ramveer was dismissed from service, but the CID could not apprehend him for two years. The biggest twist in the story came when the absconding main accused, Ramveer Kushwah, obtained anticipatory bail from the High Court. Granting bail on September 26, 2025, the Court once again held up a mirror to the investigating agency. The Court said, An FIR was registered against an unknown person 8 years ago. An FIR was registered against the appellant (Ramveer) 5 years later, but even after 8 years, the investigation is ongoing and no chargesheet has been filed. Aatmaram’s body was never recovered and there is no conclusive report regarding his death on record. Third Case: Custodial Death and Supreme Court’s Anger On July 14, 2024, 25-year-old Deva Pardi’s wedding procession was about to set off. At 4:30 PM, the police from Myana police station took Deva and his uncle, seating them on the same tractor that was meant for the wedding procession. The reason given was – recovery needed in a theft case. That same evening, the family received news from the district hospital that the body of a Pardi youth had been brought for post-mortem. That body was Deva’s. He had died in police custody. This news shook the Pardi community. At the hospital, Deva’s fiance and aunt attempted self-immolation. The women alleged that Deva was beaten to death at the police station. In protest, they also staged a semi-naked demonstration at the Collectorate. Accused TI and SI had absconded
A magisterial inquiry was ordered in the case, which concluded that Deva’s death occurred ‘under suspicious and unusual circumstances due to assault and torture during police custody.’ Based on this report, a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder was registered against the police personnel of Myana police station on September 5. The then TI Sanjeet Mavai and SI Uttam Singh, who were made accused, absconded. When the state police failed to apprehend its own employees, Deva’s mother, Hansura Bai, filed a petition in the Supreme Court. On May 15, the Supreme Court directed the CBI to arrest the accused within one month. But even the CBI could not apprehend them. Supreme Court reprimanded, SI surrendered the next day
Following this, Hansura Bai filed a contempt petition in the Supreme Court. Hearing this petition, on September 26, the Supreme Court’s anger erupted, and it severely reprimanded the CBI and the state government. The court’s strictness had an immediate effect. The very next day, on September 27, absconding SI Uttam Singh surrendered in Indore, where the CBI arrested him. However, the main accused, TI Sanjeet Mawai, is still absconding.