Salman Shah murder: Court rejects actor Don’s bail plea
Salman Shah died at his Eskaton residence in the capital on 6 September 1996.
A Dhaka court today (12 August) rejected the bail petition of actor Mohammad Ashraful Haque, popularly known as Don, who was arrested in a case filed over the alleged murder of film star Salman Shah.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Ehsanul Islam passed the order following a hearing this afternoon.
During the hearing, defence lawyer Md Tariqul Islam Jewel sought bail for Don, while Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Omar Faruk Faruki opposed the petition. After hearing both sides, the court rejected the bail plea.
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The bail petition stated that Don is a popular and well-known actor in the Bangladeshi film industry, particularly known for playing villainous roles, and that he did not know about the incident.
It claimed that he had been implicated in the case as part of a conspiracy and with the intention of harassing him, and that he was a victim of the conspiracy.
The petition further said there was no specific allegation against Don either in the case statement or in the arrest forwarding report, and that he was not involved in the alleged incident. On these grounds, the defence sought his bail.
Don was arrested at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the early hours of 9 August after immigration authorities alerted the CID as he attempted to fly to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah.
Later that afternoon, he was produced before a court, where CID Police Inspector Arifur Rahman, the investigation officer of the case, sought an order to keep him in jail. The court subsequently sent him to jail.
Don had been barred from leaving the country in connection with the Salman Shah murder case.
Salman Shah died at his Eskaton residence in the capital on 6 September 1996.
Although his death was initially described as suicide, a murder case was later filed over the incident. The names of several people surfaced during investigations conducted at different times.
On 20 October 2025, Salman Shah's maternal uncle Mohammad Alamgir Kumkum filed the case with Ramna Police Station on behalf of the actor's mother, Nila Chowdhury, accusing 11 people, including Salman's wife Samira Haque.
The other accused are Samira's mother Latifa Haque Lusi, businessman Aziz Mohammad Bhai, David, Zaved, Faruk, Ruby, A Sattar, Saju and Rijvi Ahmed Farhad.
