A terse police FIR lodged in Panchkula has transformed what the family initially described as a drug-overdose death into a full-blown criminal probe implicating Punjab’s former top police officer Mohammad Mustafa and his wife, former State Minister Razia Sultana.
The complaint, filed after the circulation of a disturbing video in which 35-year-old advocate Aqil Akhter accused his own father of an illicit relationship with his wife and warned that his family was plotting to destroy or kill him, has prompted the Panchkula police to register cases under sections 103(1) and 61 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) — covering murder and criminal conspiracy — and to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by an ACP-rank officer.
Aqil, who practiced at the Punjab and Haryana High Court and lived in Sector-4, Mansa Devi Complex (MDC), Panchkula, was found dead at his residence late on October 16. The family initially informed police that he had died of a drug overdose and the body was handed over after a post-mortem. But the emergence of an August 27 video — in which Aqil, clearly distressed, accused his father and his own wife of carrying on a relationship, claimed repeated attempts by relatives to detain or falsely implicate him, and expressed fear for his life — prompted a petition by complainant Shamshudeen Chaudhary of Malerkotla.
Shamshudeen’s October 17 complaint to the Panchkula Police Commissioner alleged “suspicious circumstances” surrounding Aqil’s death and sought an impartial and thorough investigation, leading to the FIR being registered on October 20 at the Mansa Devi police station.
Police officials confirmed that the FIR named former DGP Mustafa and Razia Sultana, along with their daughter and Aqil’s wife, as accused.
Panchkula DCP Srishti Gupta said that the complaint and the contents of the circulated social media material necessitated registering the case and that the SIT will conduct a “deep and scientific probe into all aspects” of the matter. In the 16.11 minute social media footage, dated August 27, Aqil makes a string of explosive allegations.
He says he discovered an alleged affair between his father and his wife about one-and-a-half years earlier, and recounts an incident in 2018 when he claimed to have caught them near a dressing room. “I do not know how my father got into a relationship with my wife,” he says in the recording, adding that his wife had refused him intimacy even on his wedding night.
Aqil, in the video, said that his family had previously tried to “detain” him and build false criminal cases against him. He alleged that at one point, he was forcibly taken from Haryana and brought under Punjab police custody, and that his family had him admitted without his consent to a rehabilitation centre where - he claimed - he was medicated without proper medical tests. Aqil also said that his mother and sister had been heard discussing “arranging” something against him and that they had warned him his character would be “established” against him at a later time.
The complainant, Shamshudeen, summarizing central strands in his petition, highlighted a long-standing dispute between Aqil and his family members; the August 27 video in which Aqil warned that his own family might try to “kill” or “frame” him; and the suddenness of Aqil’s death, demanding an independent, forensic probe. Shamshudeen told police that he knew the family well and that the video and the circumstances warranted urgent scrutiny.
Details of the FIR, Investigation The FIR, registered on October 20, invoked sections 103(1) and 61 of the BNS, and was filed at Police Station MDC (Mansa Devi Complex), Panchkula. Following the complaint, an SIT has been constituted under an ACP-rank officer to probe the allegations and surrounding circumstances - including the cause of death, the authenticity and context of the videos and social media posts, and any evidence of foul play or criminal conspiracy.
DCP Srishti Gupta confirmed that initially no foul play was suspected - hence the body had been released to the family after post-mortem - but the newly-surfaced social media material and the complaint altered the status of the inquiry. The police statement underlined a commitment to a fair, impartial, and scientific investigation and assured the public that the probe would be conducted without prejudice.
The family of the deceased and the accused have, so far, not issued an official comment to the police or media.
Aqil is survived by a son and a daughter. He was 35 and worked as an advocate, practicing at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He lived in Sector-4 of the Mansa Devi Complex in Panchkula.
The family implicated in the FIR is a prominent political and bureaucratic household. Mohammad Mustafa is a 1985-batch IPS officer who served in key positions, including as Punjab’s top police officer and as DGP of the Punjab State Human Rights Commission. He was known to be close to former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh at one time - relations that reportedly soured when Mustafa’s claim to the DGP post was passed over, an episode that even reached the Supreme Court. Mustafa retired in 2021 and subsequently became politically active, aligning himself with Congress and later acting as a political adviser to leaders such as Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Razia Sultana, Mustafa’s wife, has a long political résumé of her own. She first entered politics in the early 2000s, winning consecutive assembly elections in 2002 and 2007 from Malerkotla as a Congress candidate. Though she lost in 2012, she returned to the assembly in 2017 and served as a minister in the Capt Amarinder Singh-led Government. She later contested the 2022 election but was defeated by an AAP candidate.
The family has also seen political appointments. Aqil’s wife was appointed as Punjab Waqf Board chairperson about four years ago - an appointment that generated controversy at the time because it filled a longstanding vacancy and coincided with a weekend.
Allegations of Coercion, A Missing Diary In his video, Aqil alleged that at various points he was detained, railroaded into legal trouble, and forcibly admitted to a rehabilitation centre where he claimed that he was given psychiatric medications without adequate tests. He alleged that his family threatened to lodge false cases, even issuing warnings that they could level rape charges against him if he acted. The video, he said, was intended as a record - even a parting statement - and he referred to having a diary or “suicide note”, though the police said that this diary has not yet been recovered and remains missing.
