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Published : 07 Dec 2025, 01:20 PM
A Dhaka court has granted police five more weeks to submit the investigation report in the murder case relating to the 1996 death of beloved film star Salman Shah.
The report was due on Sunday, but the investigation officer told the court he was unable to complete it and requested more time.
Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana subsequently set Jan 13 as the new deadline, prosecutors said.
The latest development comes after a murder case was filed in October -- 29 years after the actor’s death -- by Mohammad Alamgir Kumkum on behalf of Salman’s mother, Neela Chowdhury.
Eleven people, including Salman’s wife Samira Haque and her mother Latifa Haque Lucy, as well as businessman Aziz Mohammad Bhai and several others from Dhaka’s film circuit, have been implicated.
The complaint alleges that Salman was killed in a pre-planned attack by the accused and other unidentified individuals.
After the filing of the case, police asked immigration authorities to prevent the accused from leaving the country.
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 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.”
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 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.
