A 51-year-old Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of the Madhya Pradesh Police killed himself in the wee hours of Tuesday (July 22, 2025) inside a police station premises in Datia district after sharing videos in which he has alleged mental harassment and death threats by his senior officers and colleagues while accusing them of sheltering the local sand mafia.
According to the police, ASI Pramod Pavan, who hailed from the Scheduled Castes (SC), was found dead in his quarters in the Godan police station premises and is suspected to have ended his life in the intervening night of Monday (July 21, 2025) and Tuesday.
Datia Superintendent of Police (SP) Suraj Kumar Verma told The Hindu that Pavan shared multiple videos to his relatives and on various WhatsApp groups before killing himself, in which he made allegations against station in-charge Arvind Singh Bhadauria, constable-driver Roop Narayan Yadav and neighbouring Tharet police station Anfasul Hasan. He also named one Babloo Yadav in his allegations, who he claimed was part of the local “sand mafia”.
In the videos that have gone viral on social media, Pavan said that the alleged harassment began after he had caught a tractor-trolley carrying illegally mined sand of Mr. Babloo Yadav.
“Since then, I’ve been harassed continuously. I haven’t been allowed to leave the station to even get my AADHAAR or SAMAGRA cards made. Casteist slurs are hurled at me daily. I can’t even eat properly,” Mr. Pavan said in one of the videos, while accusing the four men of threatening to run him over by a tractor.
“If anything happens to me, all these three cops and the sand mafia Babloo Yadav will be responsible for it,” he is heard saying.
In another video, Pavan also accused Mr. Bhadauria and Mr. Roop Narayan of sheltering local gambling dens in the area, and alleged that multiple murders have taken place due to the alleged dens in the last few years.
“If the call details of constable-cum-driver Roop Narayan Yadav are examined in detail, crucial evidence related to various murders will come to the fore,” the deceased ASI is heard saying.
Mr. Verma said that an investigation headed by the Deputy SP (AJK) has been launched in Pavan’s death and allegations made by him, while Mr. Bhadauria and Mr. Roop Narayan have been taken off duty and attached to the police line.
“We have started inquest proceedings and a case will be lodged based on the preliminary investigation. We have removed the two officers to maintain transparency in the probe. Any action against Mr. Hasan will be taken based on the probe since he does not seem to have any direct connection with the ASI,” he said.
Mr. Verma said that he was not aware of the allegations made by Pavan earlier and the latter had not approached his office with any complaint.
“Two of his brothers are also in the police force and one of them is posted here at the police line. He could have reached out to them to give his complaint,” he said, while adding that the police will look into all aspects related to the matter.
“We will probe any connection between the victims and the concerned officers. We will also see if the civilian [Mr. Babloo Yadav] has had any link to Mr. Pavan or ever gave a complaint against him,” he added.
Published – July 23, 2025 12:44 am IST
