Dhurandhar sequel: Real-life Chaudhary Aslam, played by Sanjay Dutt, was assassinated; was R&AW involved?

Sanjay Dutt in Dhurandhar.

ALSO READ | Dhurandhar’s ‘Jameel Jamali’ Rakesh Bedi modelled character on real-life Pakistan politician: ‘He is active in their Senate even today’

Aslam had been quite vocal against the Pakistani Taliban, and after his death, the TTP was quick to claim responsibility for the attack on his life. Ehsanullah Ehsan, TTP’s spokesman, told AFP, “Yes, we have killed Chaudhry Aslam and claim the responsibility of his killing.” They said that they had planned attacks on him earlier as well, but he survived. “He has killed, tortured and wounded our mujahideen friends … finally, we have sent him towards his end,” they said. The TTP conducted the blast on Chaudhry Aslam’s convoy, and two others died along with their main target.

Was R&AW involved in Chaudhary Aslam’s death?

While the TTP claimed responsibility for the assassination of Chaudhary Aslam, in 2017, a video confession of an Indian national arrested in Pakistan suggested Aslam’s assassination was conducted on the orders of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), as per Pakistani publication ARY News. The Indian intelligence agency rejected this claim.

R Madhavan in a still from Dhurandhar. He plays a character modelled on India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Attacks on Chaudhary Aslam’s life

Before this, the TTP attacked him in 2011 as they conducted an explosion outside his house in Karachi in 2011, which resulted in the death of eight people. At the time, Aslam said, “I will give my life but I won’t bow to terrorists.” He also said, “They targeted sleeping children. I walk these streets day and night. If they want to kill me, they should come and attack me directly.”

When Chaudhry Aslam died, the then Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told Dawn, “We will not let the will of the nation be crushed by these cowardly acts by terrorists.”

ALSO READ | Dhurandhar: Real-life Rehman Dakait killed mother at 15, was Lyari’s ‘king’ at 21, this is what happened after his encounter

Chaudhry Aslam had been a significant figure in Pakistani police but he gained prominence after 2006 after he started arrested alleged suicide bombers and militants planning attacks in Pakistan. But, he was also accused of carrying out fake encounters where he would kill militants in staged gunfights, instead of following protocol, as per BBC. The BBC also reported that Chaudhry Aslam was a target of the Taliban because of his relentless pursuit to shut down their operations in Pakistan.

Akshaye Khanna plays Rehman Dakait in Dhurandhar.

Chaudhary Aslam’s ‘fake encounters’

Because Chaudhry Aslam was notorious for conducting fake encounters, Rahman Dakait’s wife, after his killing, approached the court claiming that her husband was also a victim of Chaudhry Aslam’s schemes. The court asked the police to file a complaint, but nothing came of it.

After Rahman Dakait’s death in 2009, Chaudhry Aslam was asked to head the Lyari grand operation in 2012, which basically meant that he was required to make the area crime free, but after the interference of Nawaz Sharif, only a handful of gangsters were arrested during this operation.