‘Party hopper, AAP worker, neighbour’: Who is Shamshudin Chaudhary, the complainant against Punjab ex-DGP, his ex-MLA wife

In 2022 Punjab Assembly polls, Chaudhary had campaigned extensively for Mohammad Jamil ur Rahman, the AAP candidate from Malerkotla, the only Muslim majority district of Punjab. Rahman won the election defeating three-time Congress MLA Sultana by over 20,000 votes.

Chaudhary (extreme left) with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and Malerkotla AAP MLA Dr Mohammad Jamil Ur Rahman.

According to the FIR registered at Mansa Devi Complex (MDC) police station in Haryana’s Panchkula, Chaudhary has demanded “a comprehensive investigation into the death of Aqil Akhtar including examination of his social media video, call records, post mortem reports” etc and “possible involvement of any family members or associates to ensure truth is brought to light and justice is done”.

Akhtar, 35, was found dead on October 16 at his MDC residence on October 16, police said. In a purported video on his social media, Akhtar levelled personal allegations against his father, mother and wife and claimed “threats to his life”. However, in another purported video, Akhtar said, “I had posted a video earlier, in which I said many things. It was due to my mental illness… I am blessed with such a good family”.

Mustafa, a retired IPS officer, citing police probe said that Akhtar died after “injecting drug in overdose” and has termed Chaudhary’s police complaint an example of “dirty mindset and cheap politicking.”

Mustafa said that Chaudhary was a former “personal assistant (PA)” of AAP MLA Rahman and was “thrown out of AAP following allegations of collecting bribes and kickbacks”.

Chaudhary with Malerkotla AAP MLA Dr Mohammad Jamil Ur Rahman.

Speaking to The Indian Express, MLA Rahman said, “Chaudhary worked with AAP during my election campaign in 2022. He wasn’t my PA but just a party worker. It has been nearly a year since we asked him to leave. He would not pick calls and switch off his phone often. He had switched over to the AAP only in 2022 but otherwise he was a staunch Akali. He has always been with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and shifted to AAP only in 2022 seeing our winning wave.”

“Earlier he was also with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). After shifting to AAP, he was never my PA but just a party worker during the election,” said Rahman.

Social media posts and Chaudhary’s Facebook page show him posing with several politicians including Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, cabinet ministers Harpal Cheema and Tarunpreet Sond, AAP MLA Rahman, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, former SAD MLA Farzana Alam among others.

Mustafa added, “Chaudhary had met me once during the Congress government to seek help in a bank fraud case against him, never after that. He claims he is our neighbour in Malerkotla but our house is on the town’s outskirts and we don’t have any neighbour”.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Chaudhary said: “Yes, I campaigned for AAP during the 2022 Punjab polls. I was not Rahman’s PA but only a friend. Earlier I was also with BSP and SAD. Otherwise I am a cattle feed trader.”

Chaudhary added: “We have old ties with Razia Sultana’s family. I am a neighbor of her parents. Her parent’s house and my ancestral house are located next to each other in Mohalla Khatikan of Malerkotla. We called her mother bua (aunt) and they call my father mama (uncle). I filed this case as I felt that what happened with Aqil was wrong. I haven’t made any allegations against anyone and I only want a fair probe based on the video recorded by the deceased. Even if I was an AAP worker, it has nothing to do with this case. Political campaigns are only till elections.”

Once Punjab’s “power couple”, now mired in son’s death controversy

Once known as the “power couple” in Punjab, Mustafa and his wife Sultana, are now mired in controversy over their young son’s untimely death.

A three-time Congress MLA from Punjab’s only Muslim majority town Malerkotla, Sultana had won for the first time in 2002 on a Congress ticket, followed by 2007 and then 2017. She lost 2012 polls to SAD’s Farzana Alam.

In 2017, Sultana defeated her own brother Arshad Dali, who was an AAP candidate. During her campaigning for elections, Sultana was often accused of using her husband’s clout in Punjab Police.

After her 2017 win, she was inducted as a cabinet minister for the first time under then chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh. However, her relations with Amarinder soured after Dinkar Gupta, a 1987-batch IPS officer, was appointed as the Punjab DGP, superseding Mustafa who was 1985-batch officer.

However, even as Amarinder was ousted from Congress, Sultana did not leave the party. She was retained as cabinet minister under newly appointed CM Charanjit Singh Channi in 2021, but resigned in protest after Navjot Sidhu’s resignation as Punjab Congress president.

Once a Captain Amarinder loyalist, the couple had later shifted to Navjot Singh Sidhu’s camp.

Malerkotla was announced as Punjab’s 23rd district under Sultana’s tenure in 2021 by Amarinder.

Mustafa has been in controversies earlier too. After Dinkar Gupta’s appointment as Punjab Police DGP in 2019, Mustafa refused to work under ‘a junior’. He also moved the Supreme Court challenging Gupta’s appointment but eventually withdrew his plea. Mustafa retired in 2021 as DGP (Human Rights).

He then started working for the Congress party and was appointed by Sidhu as his ‘principal strategic advisor’.

In a controversial 2022 video, Mustafa was accused of making inflammatory, communal remarks and threatening AAP workers at an election rally in Malerkotla while campaigning for his wife Sultana. His comments led to an FIR being filed against him.

Sultana eventually lost to AAP’s Rahman in 2022 polls by over 20,000 votes.

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