Death of Punjab ex-DGP's son: Police say viscera to be sent for chemical examination 

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Panchkula Police probing the death case of former Punjab DGP Mohammad Mustafa's son said on Wednesday that the cause of the fatality is yet to be ascertained and the viscera will now be sent for a chemical examination.

Mustafa and his wife Razia Sultana, a former Punjab minister, have been booked by the Panchkula Police in Haryana in connection with the death of their 35-year-old son.

Aqil Akhter was found dead at his Panchkula residence on October 16. The deceased's wife and sister have also been booked in the case.

The FIR was registered on October 20 under sections 103(1) and 61 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) that deal with murder and criminal conspiracy, after a man named Shamshuddin from Punjab's Malerkotla filed a complaint alleging foul play in Akhter's death.

According to the complainant, Akhter died under "suspicious circumstances", police had said earlier.

Talking to reporters, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Panchkula, and SIT in-charge Vikram Nehra said, "The post-mortem report has been received. Now, we will send the viscera for a chemical examination. Once that report comes, the cause of the death will be known."

When pointed out that Akhter's family has claimed that he had become "psychotic" and was not in sound mental health, the ACP said, "His medical history will throw light on whether he was suffering from a mental illness or not, and if he was, what kind of treatment was he subjected to and by whom. This is also a matter of investigation."

"We have begun investigations and his family members and those who were in touch with him will be called for the probe," he added.

The officer said a video purportedly shot by the deceased will also be examined by forensic experts.

"At the moment, we are focusing on the reason behind his death. Devices and documents related to the deceased will be examined and if we get any evidence based on that, we will take action," the ACP said.

Shamshuddin's complaint alleges that in the video, Akhter had levelled serious charges against his family.

The complainant has told police that he knows the family quite well.

According to Panchkula Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Srishti Gupta, Akhter was found dead at his Sector 4, MDC residence on October 16.

The family alerted police about the development.

The complainant has given an account of the video purportedly shot by Akhter in August, in which he has levelled serious allegations against his father and other family members.

Mustafa, a retired 1985-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has served as the Punjab director general of police (human rights), while his wife was a minister in the previous Congress government in the state.

Mustafa has dismissed all allegations levelled against him and his family in connection with his son's death as "completely false".

Addressing the media in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur on Tuesday, Mustafa said he welcomes the police case against him and his wife as the probe would "reveal the truth".

Regarding the video purportedly shot by his son, the former DGP said the deceased was suffering from a psychotic disorder for nearly 18 years and also struggled with substance abuse.

"He often became violent due to his illness," Mustafa told reporters, adding that his family endured this mental suffering for years.

"His condition had worsened to the point where he did not understand what he was saying or doing," he said.