CHANDIGARH, Oct 21 — Haryana Police have booked former Punjab director general of police (DGP) Mohammad Mustafa and his wife, former minister Razia Sultana, along with two others, for the alleged murder of their 35-year-old son, Aqil Akhtar, in Panchkula on the night of October 16.
According to officials, Aqil was found unconscious by family members at his Sector 4 residence in the Mansa Devi Complex area. He was taken to the Civil Hospital in Sector 6, where doctors declared him brought dead. At the time, police said there was no suspicion of foul play, and the body was handed over to the family after post-mortem the following day. The family later took the body to their native village in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, for the last rites.
The case, however, took a dramatic turn after a local resident, Shamshudeen Chaudhary of Malerkotla, Punjab, held a press conference in Panchkula. He referred to a social media post Aqil had shared in August, in which the deceased had made “serious allegations” against his family members and expressed fear for his life. Chaudhary also produced a screenshot of a diary entry and lodged a written complaint with the Panchkula Police, Haryana DGP, and Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, demanding “a fair and impartial investigation.”
Following the complaint and the contents of the post, an FIR was registered at the Mansa Devi Complex (MDC) police station against Mustafa, Sultana, their daughter, and daughter-in-law.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Srishti Gupta confirmed that the case was registered under Sections 103(1) (murder) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). “A special investigation team has been formed to probe the case thoroughly, without bias or prejudice,” she said. “The SIT will ensure that no guilty person is spared and no innocent person suffers.”
A senior officer said the SIT would be led by an assistant commissioner of police (ACP)-rank officer and would examine digital evidence, call records, and forensic findings.
Family sources said Aqil, a practising lawyer, is survived by his wife, a homemaker, and their two children — a five-year-old son and a seven-year-old daughter. His father, Mohammad Mustafa, retired from Punjab Police in 2021 and later joined the Congress, while his mother, Razia Sultana, is a three-time Congress MLA from Malerkotla.
A senior Congress functionary from Punjab, when contacted, said the development had “deeply shocked” the political circles in the state. “It’s a tragic situation for the family and a disturbing turn of events,” the leader said, requesting anonymity.
