Salman Shah’s death: Court accepts PBI report saying actor died by suicide, not murdered

A Dhaka court today accepted a Police Bureau of Investigation probe report in the case over actor Salman Shah's death, where it is mentioned that the actor had died by suicide due to a family feud.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mamunur Rashid accepted the probe report after rejecting a no-confidence petition filed by the defence lawyer, according to court sources

Faruk Ahmed, lawyer of Salman's mother Neela Chowdhury, however expressed displeasure over the report.

"Salman Shah's mother Neela Chowdhury was asked to give a virtual statement on the matter, as she was absent, and the court dismissed the no-confidence petition filed against the probe report," he told The Daily Star.

On February 25 last year, Inspector Sirajul Islam of PBI, also the investigation officer of the case, submitted a 600-page probe report to the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court, stating that Salman Shah was not murdered, but died by suicide.

The PBI report also mentioned five reasons behind Salman's suicide -- his romantic relationship with female actor Shabnur that led to a familial dispute; conjugal feud between him and his wife Samira Haq; several prior suicide attempts; a complicated relationship with his mother and marital problems due to not having children.

Shahriar Chowdhury Emon, who took the screen name Salman Shah and saw a mercurial rise to popularity among filmgoers in the 1990s, was found dead at his Eskaton Road residence on September 6, 1996 at the age of 25.

Following the death, Salman's father Kamaruddin Chowdhury filed an unnatural death case.

In 1997, one Rezvi Ahmed alias Forhad, a fan of Salman, was arrested in the case, turning it from "unnatural death" to "murder".

Rezvi, however, later withdrew his confession given before the police.

Detective Branch and Criminal Investigation Department of police, and a judicial probe body investigated the case separately and submitted reports, stating that it was an unnatural death, which his family rejected.

In August 2016, a Dhaka court asked PBI to carry out further investigations into the case. PBI interrogated 44 people including Shabnur and Samira while probing.

Asked about Rezvi's first statement, PBI officials said he [Rezvi] was beaten at the police station and compelled to give a false statement as instructed by some officers of Cantonment Police Station at the time.

Rezvi is now staying in the US, and refused to come to the country for a testimony.

The PBI officials said the then Cantonment police officers later faced departmental punishment.

The PBI official said they conducted the investigation taking into account all of the queries of Salman's mother.

Defence lawyer Faruque Ahmed said they would go to the higher court against the lower court's order.