Revision hearing over actor Salman Shah’s death ends, order on Oct 20

The hearing of the revision petition filed by late filmstar Salman Shah’s mother in a case over her son’s death has concluded, with a Dhaka court setting Oct 20 for its order.

Dhaka’s Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Jannatul Ferdous Ibne Haque fixed the date after the hearing on Sunday.

The lawyer of Salman Shah’s mother Md Obaidullah argued for the revision.

Speaking to reporters later, Obaidullah said: “We filed the revision requesting some documents from the case. We began the hearing in 2022, and it concluded today.

“We are fully confident the court will grant our revision. Once it is approved, we’ll review the information and seek a reinvestigation.”

Fans of the late actor also held a human chain in front of the court, demanding justice for what they called the “murder” of Salman.

Salman -- whose full name was Chowdhury Mohammad Shahriar Emon -- was found dead in his Eskaton flat in Dhaka on Sept 6, 1996, at the height of his fame in Bangladesh’s film industry.

Following his death, Salman’s father Kamaruddin Ahmed Chowdhury initially filed an unnatural death case. But on Jul 24, 1997, he appealed to turn it into a murder case, alleging that his son had been killed.

The court then directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the murder allegations alongside the unnatural death case. On Nov 3, 1997, CID submitted its final report, concluding that Salman Shah had committed suicide.

Rejecting the report, Kamaruddin filed a revision case, prompting the court on May 19, 2003, to order a judicial inquiry. After 11 years, Metropolitan Magistrate Imdadul Haque submitted his report on Aug 3, 2014, which also dismissed the murder claim.

After Kamaruddin’s death, Salman’s mother, Neela Chowdhury, pursued the case further. On Feb 10, 2015, she filed a “Naraji” petition, expressing dissatisfaction and objecting to the judicial report and named 11 individuals she believed might be linked to her son’s death.

The case was later investigated by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). But after state objections, Special Judge Imrul Kayes of Dhaka’s Special Judge Court ordered the RAB to stop probing on Aug 21, 2016. The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) then took over.

After four years of inquiry, PBI submitted its final report on Feb 25, 2020, stating that after analysing witness testimonies of 54 individuals and the seized evidence, no proof of murder was found.

The PBI concluded: “Due to family conflict arising from his closeness with actress Shabnur (Kazi Sharmin Nahid Nupur) and estrangement from his wife Samira Haque, Salman suffered mental distress and ultimately took his own life.”

Unsatisfied with the findings, Neela Chowdhury sought further investigation, wanting to know the true cause of her son’s death.

On Oct 31, 2021, Metropolitan Magistrate Mamunur Rashid accepted the PBI’s report and acquitted the suspect. The family then filed a revision with the Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court, challenging parts of the decision.

The court accepted the petition on Jun 12, 2022, though the hearing was delayed for procedural reasons -- until it finally concluded this week.

Born on Sep 19, 1971, in Dariapara, Sylhet, Salman’s dazzling four-year career in the early 1990s made him one of Bangladesh’s most beloved screen icons before his untimely death in 1996.