The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on November 6 registered a First Information Report against former Punjab Director General of Police Mohammad Mustafa, his wife Razia Sultana, their daughter and daughter-in-law, in connection with the death of Aqil Akhtar (34), whose body was discovered under suspicious circumstances in Panchkula, Haryana, on October 16.
The case was initially registered by the Panchkula police but was transferred to the CBI after the Haryana government accepted a complaint filed by one Shamshudeen Chaudhary of Malerkotla. The complainant cited a video posted by Aqil on 27 August in which he alleged strained relations within his family and expressed fears for his safety.
As per the FIR, Mustafa, Sultana, Aqil’s wife and sister are charged under sections 103(1) (murder) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The registration was undertaken after information was received in Chandigarh late on the night of November 6, according to CBI officials.
Investigators say the family had been living at Sector 4, Mansa Devi Complex, Panchkula, and that tensions within the household were reported prior to Aqil’s death. The post-mortem has been completed and the body handed over for final rites. So far, no arrests have been made, and the family has stated their intention to cooperate with the probe.
DSP Rishiraj Sharma of CBI will lead the investigation. Officials indicated that electronic devices, social-media posts, call records and forensic reports will be scrutinised as part of the inquiry. Both the state and central agencies are monitoring the case to ensure an unbiased process.
Meanwhile, this development marks a sharp turn in what had initially appeared to be a puzzling death, and now raises the prospect of a full-scale criminal investigation into the former senior police officer and his immediate family.