Booked after son’s death, ex-DGP Mustafa, wife Razia were once among power couples

In a dramatic turn of events, a video purportedly recorded by Aqil surfaced online in which he levelled serious allegations against his father, mother, sister and wife, accusing them of harassment and conspiring against him and claiming threat to life. In another purported video, which surfaced later, he said he had said “many things in the posted video earlier” due to “schizophrenia” and that “I am blessed with such a good family”. He said he wanted to feel sorry as his sister really looked after him.

Citing the first video, Malkerkotla resident Shamshuddin Chaudhary filed a complaint with the Haryana Police, alleging that Aqil’s death was not accidental but part of a planned conspiracy.

A Panchkula police spokesperson said the FIR was registered under Sections 302 (murder) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Mustafa, a 1985-batch IPS officer who retired as DGP (Human Rights) in 2021, was once considered close to former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh. Originally hailing from Saharanpur in UP, Mustafa chose to settle at Malerkotla, the only Muslim-majority town in Punjab. He came in touch with Amarinder in the late 1990s and their friendship grew.

When Amarinder became the chief minister in March 2017, speculation was rife that Mustafa would be elevated as the state police chief. Amarinder, however, decided to continue with Suresh Arora, appointed to the top post by the previous SAD-BJP regime. Later, in February 2021, he was superseded to the top post by Dinkar Gupta following which his differences with Amarinder widened.

Sultana, a three-time MLA from Malerkotla, had been a minister in Amarinder’s Cabinet, holding the portfolios of water supply and sanitation. She had resigned when Amarinder was replaced by Charanjit Singh Channi as chief minister in September 2021. However, she continued to be an MLA and contested the 2022 Assembly elections from Malerkotla, but lost to AAP’s Mohammad Jamil ur Rahman. Sultana was one of the ministers in Amarinder’s Cabinet, who had signed in favour of his removal when several MLAs rebelled against him.

Mustafa, who was posted in the field in Punjab during trouble-torn days of militancy, is a four-time recipient of President’s Police Medal for gallantry. “I am the only officer in the country who has won the highest gallantry medal four times. I was decorated for my fight against terrorism. I was the only officer in Punjab cadre who had served in all the border districts of the state. I started my career from Tarn Taran and after getting promoted I remained IG in all the border districts. I was made to serve in the border districts,” Mustafa had said in an interview to The Indian Express in 2020.

After his retirement, in February 2021, Mustafa joined the Congress and actively campaigned for his wife, Sultana. During the campaign in the run-up to 2022 Assembly elections, he courted a controversy when he was booked for his remarks in January 2022. An FIR was lodged under IPC Section 153-A and Section 125 in The Representation of the People Act for his alleged communal remarks at a public rally.

Following the registration of the FIR, Mustafa said, “According to the law and police rules, if the police receives any written complaint in any case, then it becomes the duty of the police to register an FIR on that complaint. Panchkula Police has followed this duty and I welcome it.”

In a statement, he said, this does not mean that someone’s guilt has been proven. “Now after the registration of the FIR, the real action will start and when the truth comes, that will come out in front of the people.” He said it is true that “we have been devastated by the death of our young son, but this does not mean that we can shun the family political and the existing obligations of some people,” he said.

Appealing to the friends in Malerkotla House, his residence, to remain in good spirits, he said, “We are in the middle of a legal process and I have full faith in law.”