The police have been granted more than a month’s time to submit the investigation report in the murder case of late film star Salman Shah, in which 11 people, including his former wife Samira Haque, are accused.
The report was scheduled to be submitted on Sunday, but investigating officer Inspector Atiqul Islam Khandaker of Ramna Model police station failed to do so.
As a result, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana set January 13, 2026, as the new date for submission, prosecution official Sub-Inspector Jinnat Ali confirmed.
The case was filed on October 20 by Salman Shah’s brother Mohammad Alamgir Kumkum on behalf of their mother, Neela Chowdhury.
Salman Shah, whose real name was Chowdhury Mohammad Shahriar Emon, was found dead at his Eskaton residence in Dhaka on September 6, 1996, at the height of his popularity in the Bangladeshi film industry.
Initially, his father, Qamaruddin Ahmed Chowdhury, filed a case of unnatural death. On July 24, 1997, he later sought to convert it into a murder case, alleging his son had been killed. The court ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the murder allegation alongside the original case.
On November 3, 1997, CID submitted a final report stating that Salman Shah had died by suicide. Dissatisfied, Qamaruddin Chowdhury filed a revision petition. Subsequently, on May 19, 2003, the court ordered a judicial investigation.
After 11 years, a judicial investigation report was submitted on August 3, 2014, again dismissing the murder allegation.
Following Qamaruddin Chowdhury’s death, Neela Chowdhury continued the legal fight. On February 10, 2015, she rejected the judicial report and named 11 individuals she claimed were involved in her son’s death.
The case was later assigned to Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), but following objections from the state, a Dhaka court on August 21, 2016, ordered RAB to stop the investigation. The probe was then handed over to the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI).
After four years, PBI submitted its final report on February 25, 2020, stating that no evidence of murder was found after reviewing witness statements and seized materials. The report concluded that Salman Shah had taken his own life due to family disputes and mental distress.
Unhappy with the PBI findings, Neela Chowdhury sought further investigation. On October 31, 2021, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mamunur Rashid accepted the PBI report and ordered the discharge of the accused.
Salman Shah’s family later filed a revision petition before the Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court. On June 12, 2022, the court accepted the revision, though further hearings were delayed.
On October 20 this year, Sixth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Jannatul Ferdous Ibn Haque granted Neela Chowdhury’s revision petition and ordered the filing of a murder case, directing Ramna Model police station to investigate the complaint and submit a report.
In the case statement, Mohammad Alamgir alleged that the named and unidentified accused conspired to murder Salman Shah on September 6, 1996.
