Suicide or Murder? 29 years on, mystery persists over Salman Shah's death
The death of legendary Bangladeshi film actor Chowdhury Mohammad Shahriar (Emon), better known as Salman Shah, remains shrouded in mystery 29 years later.
On 6 September 1996, the actor was found dead at his home, with investigations repeatedly concluding his death was a suicide, a finding his family and fans have consistently rejected, claiming he was murdered.
Following his death, Salman Shah's father, the late Kamaruddin Ahmed Chowdhury, filed an unnatural death case with the Ramna Police Station on that fateful day.
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However, less than a year later, in July 1997, he filed a plea to convert the case into a murder case, arguing his son had been killed.
'Unnatural' death
Over the years, the case has gone through several investigations by different agencies. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), in a final report submitted on 3 November 1997, concluded that it was a suicide, a finding that was accepted by the court.
However, his father rejected the report and filed a revision petition.
The mourning father passed away in 2002, without ever knowing the truth about his son's death but the case was then sent for a second judicial investigation, which, after 11 years, also concluded it was a suicide.
On 3 August 2014, a Metropolitan Magistrate, Emdadul Haque, submitted a judicial inquiry report to the then Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Bikash Kumar Saha.
The report mentioned Salman Shah's death as an unnatural one. Salman Shah's mother Neela Chowdhury rejected this report.
On 10 February 2015, Neela filed an objection in the court of then Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jahangir Hossain, accusing 11 people, including Salman Shah's wife Samira Haq, Aziz Mohammad Bhai, Rizvi Ahmed alias Farhad, Nazrul Sheikh Samira Haque, Latifa Haque Lucy, David, Ashraful Haque Don, Rabeya Sultana Ruby, Mostaq Waid, Abul Hossain Khan and Monowara Begum, of being involved in her son's murder.
The next hearing
The court then ordered the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) to investigate the case, but the state later intervened with a revision petition, and the investigation was subsequently handed over to the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI).
On 25 February 2020, the PBI also submitted a final report concluding that Salman Shah had committed suicide. The court accepted the report on 31 October 2021, but the family again filed a revision application, which is currently pending.
The next hearing is scheduled for 23 September.
When asked, plaintiff's lawyer Md Obaidullah said, "We have filed a revision on the grounds that the investigation report given by the PBI is not correct. The revision petitioner is Salman Shah's mother Neela Chowdhury."
The mourning mother, who resides in England, has given power of attorney to her brother, Alamgir Kumkum, to pursue the case.
'None of these things were done'
In a phone call with The Business Standard, Neela expressed her heartbreak, saying, "What more can a mother ask for? The mystery of my son's murder has not been solved in 29 years."
"When will I finally get to know the real mystery behind my son's death?"
she questioned, adding, "My only wish is to see the killers get exemplary punishment before I leave this world."
Alamgir Kumkum said he is hopeful that the incumbent government will deliver justice.
"Allah is the deliverer of justice. Even after so many days, there has been no trial. I had been summoned by the court. The previous government has tried the case in a one-sided manner. I am hopeful for the current government," he said.
"When someone in the family dies, everyone is called from the police station. People are arrested, even taken on remand. But none of these things were done," he said, adding, "Salman Shah's body was taken down, given a bath, and wrapped in fresh clothes."
"Not even a phone call was made to his mother as he was sick. There were no housekeepers at home on the day of the incident," he explained.
"After the incident, even the housekeepers Dolly, Monowara, and Abul were not called on by the police station. There is a mystery in this. My only demand is that the criminals should come out and face exemplary punishment."
A fan of Salman Shah, named Ahit, also claimed that the investigation has been negligent.
"The case has many lapses. It is a murder based on the facts of the incident," he said, accusing Salman Shah's former wife and the household staff of being responsible for his death.
On that fateful day
On this day in 1996, the body of Salman Shah was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his New Eskaton Garden apartment in Dhaka. His wife, Samira, claimed to the police that she found him hanging and, with the help of others, took him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where he was declared dead.
In his initial wrongful death case, Salman Shah's father mentioned that he went to Salman's house at around 9:30am on the day of the incident to meet his son.
But Salman's personal assistant Abul and wife Samira said, "Salman has been working all night. Now he cannot be called out of his sleep."
The father waited for about an hour and returned home.
At around 11:30am, a man named Selim called to tell him that something had happened to Salman. The father, mother and Salman's brother immediately rushed to the house and found Salman Shah's lifeless body in his bedroom.
