In a dramatic twist shaking Punjab's political corridors, retired Director General of Police (DGP) Mohammad Mustafa has vehemently denied any involvement in the suspicious death of his son, Aqil Akhter, insisting that a thorough Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe will expose the real story behind the tragedy. The controversy erupted following the October 16 death of the 35-year-old Akhter at his home in Haryana's Panchkula.

What began as a family's claim of a fatal drug overdose quickly spiraled into murder allegations, with police registering an FIR against Mustafa, his wife and former Punjab minister Razia Sultana, Akhter's wife, and his sister. The group now stands accused under serious charges, prompting Mustafa—a 1985-batch IPS officer—to publicly welcome the scrutiny. "I fully support the SIT's formation and will cooperate completely to bring the truth to light," he declared to reporters on Tuesday.

At the heart of the uproar is a haunting video Akhter allegedly posted on social media on August 27, which he deleted just two hours later. In it, the distressed son unleashes explosive claims against his father and family, accusing them of plotting to frame him in a false case, imprison him, or even eliminate him. "I feel they will frame me... Their plan is to have me falsely imprisoned or even killed," Akhter said, his voice laced with paranoia. He further alleged that relatives dismissed his fears as delusions and hallucinations, branding them a "false narrative" to discredit him. Mustafa dismissed the clip as the ramblings of a tormented mind, revealing that Akhter had battled a severe psychotic disorder for nearly 18 years, compounded by chronic substance abuse that often turned violent.

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The former DGP painted a heartbreaking picture of family life under siege, claiming Akhter's episodes included a 2008 assault that fractured Sultana's hip—falsely reported as an accidental fall—and an attempted attack on his own wife. "He often became violent due to his illness; his condition worsened to where he didn't understand what he was saying or doing," Mustafa explained, noting the family's quiet endurance to shield their public image. "As public figures, we hid these matters, but now the truth must come out." He accused opportunistic individuals of downloading and weaponizing the deleted video to tarnish the family's reputation, particularly targeting his political standing.

The FIR stemmed from a complaint by Shamshuddin, a resident of Punjab's Malerkotla, whose "completely false" allegations Mustafa rejected outright as a smear campaign. Adding to the intrigue, the family hastily buried Akhter's body in their ancestral village of Harda Kheri in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur without awaiting full autopsy results—though Mustafa clarified he personally requested the post-mortem, with the report still pending. As tensions mount, Punjab authorities have greenlit the SIT to delve deeper, promising an impartial unraveling of events that could redefine the Mustafa legacy from law enforcement icon to family scandal. For now, the ex-DGP stands resolute: the investigation, he says, will vindicate them all.

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