The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has sought seven days' remand for Ashraful Haque Don, who is currently in jail in connection with the murder case of actor Salman Shah, citing three reasons.
Inspector Mojibur Rahman of the CID's Dhaka Metro South, the investigation officer in the case, submitted the remand petition last Thursday.
On Monday, Shah Alam of the prosecution department said Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana has fixed Thursday for the hearing in the presence of the accused.
Three reasons for the remand request
First, the case is highly sensitive and has generated widespread public interest as the victim was popular film actor Salman Shah. His mother, Neela Chowdhury, has been demanding an impartial investigation since his death in 1996. The CID believes interrogating Don in custody could help uncover the truth behind the case.
Second, the investigation officer described Don as a “cunning” person and said intensive interrogation in police custody could help identify the whereabouts of other people allegedly involved in the case and facilitate their arrest.
Third, the CID wants to question Don about why and under whose influence he allegedly attempted to flee abroad despite a travel ban, saying this could help reveal information about the case.
Don was arrested by immigration police at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on August 9 and subsequently handed over to the CID. He was sent to jail the same day. His bail petition, filed on August 12, was rejected by the court.
Background
On October 20 last year, Salman Shah's brother, Mohammad Alamgir Kumkum, filed the case on behalf of their mother, Neela Chowdhury.
On September 6, 1996, film actor Salman Shah, whose real name was Chowdhury Mohammad Shahriar Emon, died at his flat in Eskaton, Dhaka. He was at the peak of his popularity in the Bangladeshi film industry at the time.
Following his son's death, Salman's father, Kamaruddin Ahmed Chowdhury, initially filed a case of wrongful death. However, on July 24, 1997, he sought to have it converted into a murder case, alleging that his son had been killed.
The court subsequently directed the CID to investigate the murder allegation alongside the wrongful-death case. On November 3, 1997, the CID submitted a final report stating that Salman Shah had died by suicide.
Rejecting the report, Kamaruddin filed a revision petition. On May 19, 2003, the court ordered a judicial inquiry.
After 11 years, Metropolitan Magistrate Imdadul Haque submitted the inquiry report on August 3, 2014, which also dismissed the murder allegation.
After Kamaruddin's death, Neela Chowdhury continued pursuing the case. On February 10, 2015, she objected to the judicial inquiry report and named 11 people whom she alleged could have been involved in her son's death.
The case was subsequently investigated by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). However, following a state objection, Judge Imrul Kayesh of Dhaka Special Judge Court-6 ordered RAB to stop investigating the case on August 21, 2016.
The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) then took over the investigation and submitted its final report on February 25, 2020, after four years of investigation.
The PBI said it had analysed the statements of 54 witnesses and examined seized evidence but found no evidence supporting the murder allegation.
According to the PBI report, Salman Shah was suffering from family disputes linked to his relationship with actress Shabnur and mental distress over distancing himself from his mother, Nilufa Chowdhury alias Neela Chowdhury, due to his relationship with his wife, Samira Haque. The report concluded that he had died by suicide.
Neela Chowdhury rejected the report and sought further investigation into her son's death.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mamunur Rashid accepted the PBI report and ordered the accused to be discharged on October 31, 2021.
Salman's family subsequently filed a revision petition before the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court, raising several objections.
On June 12, 2022, the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court admitted the revision petition, but the hearing was delayed for various reasons.
On October 20, the 6th Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge of Dhaka, Md Jannatul Ferdous Ibn Haque, allowed the revision petition filed by Salman Shah's mother concerning his death. The court ordered the filing of a murder case, attaching Kamaruddin's complaint and the statement of Rizvi Ahmed alias Farhad, who was allegedly involved in the incident, and directed Ramna Model Police Station to investigate and submit a report.
In the case, Mohammad Alamgir alleged that the accused named in the complaint, along with unidentified absconding suspects, had planned and conspired to kill Salman Shah on September 6, 1996.