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Published : 27 Oct 2025, 08:39 PM
A Dhaka court has issued a travel ban on actor Don and Salman Shah’s former wife Samira Haque in connection with the long-running investigation into the popular actor’s death.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Saifuzzaman passed the order on Monday, confirmed Sub-Inspector Jinnat Ali, the prosecution officer in the case.
Earlier, the investigation officer, Inspector Atikul Islam Khandakar of Ramna Model Police Station, submitted a petition seeking restrictions on their foreign travel.
The case was filed shortly after midnight on Monday by Mohammad Alamgir Kumkum, brother of Salman’s mother Neela Chowdhury, acting on her behalf.
Besides Samira, the list of accused includes her mother Latifa Haque Lucy, businessman Aziz Mohammad Bhai, and actors Don, David, Javed, Faruk, Rubi, Saju -- all identified with a single name -- Abdus Sattar, and Rizvi Ahmed alias Farhad.
The case alleges that the named and unidentified absconding individuals deliberately and premeditatedly murdered 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 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 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 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.”
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 on Monday.
Born on Sept 19, 1971 in Sylhet’s Dariapara, 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.
