In the Salman Shah murder case, one of the accused, Rizvi Ahmed alias Farhad, confessed to his involvement and sought to become a state approver in 1997.
On July 24, 1997, Rizvi gave a confessional statement under Section 164 before the court, admitting that the actor was killed in exchange for Tk12 lakh, arranged by Salman’s mother-in-law, Latifa Huq Lucy.
The details of his confession came to light through court sources on Friday.
According to his statement, Tk6 lakh was paid before the murder, and the remaining Tk6 lakh afterward by Lucy.
Rizvi also stated that two individuals—Don and David—had planned to abduct Salman Shah’s brother, Biltu, to pressure the family into withdrawing the murder case. However, while attempting to carry out the plan, Rizvi was arrested on July 19, 1997, and later made his confession in court.
He further said that in the early 1990s, he would occasionally visit Dhaka and go to the Film Development Corporation (FDC), where he became acquainted with actor Don, and later with David and Faruk.
Don, once a close friend of Salman Shah, had developed a secret intimate relationship with Salman’s wife, Samira. Meanwhile, Samira’s mother was also involved in an intimate relationship with film producer Aziz Mohammad Bhai.
Due to these affairs, Salman Shah began distancing himself from Don, according to Rizvi.
Murder plan at a Gulistan bar
On September 5, 1996, Rizvi went to FDC but did not find Don there. After waiting for about an hour, he met him, and at around 8pm, Don, David, Faruk, Javed, and Rizvi went to a bar near Gulistan.
Don called two others, Sattar and Saju, to join them.
Faruk then took out Tk2 lakh and said that Samira’s mother had provided the money.
He added that the total payment for killing Salman Shah was Tk12 lakh, with Tk6 lakh to be paid before and Tk6 lakh after the killing.
A dispute arose between Don and Faruk over the initial payment, but Faruk later brought Tk4 lakh more.
At the bar, Don cut a plastic rope in half, tied one part around his waist under a black jacket, and gave the other part to Faruk. They organized their weapons and materials — money, syringe, and revolver.
Rizvi said Samira’s mother and Aziz Mohammad Bhai had jointly contacted Don and Faruk to arrange the murder.
The night of the murder
That night, they went from Gulistan to FDC and, according to their plan, left at around 2:30am.
Don drove the car to Salman Shah’s Eskaton residence, where the gatekeeper, already familiar with them, allowed entry.
On the way up, Don knocked on the door of one Ruby. Upon seeing them, Ruby said: "Oh, you guys came."
Don asked her where Aziz Bhai was, and Aziz soon came out of the bathroom of that apartment.
Together—except for Ruby—they took the lift upstairs. Aziz got off on the fourth floor, while the others continued to the 11th floor, to Salman’s apartment. Samira was already inside when they arrived, while Lucy was hiding inside a dressing room.
As they entered, they found Salman resting in the bedroom. Without warning, Don, David, Javed, and Faruk attacked him.
Faruk pulled out a bottle of chloroform and handed it to Samira, who pressed it over Salman’s nose with a napkin until he lost consciousness. Moments later, however, Salman regained consciousness and began to fight back.
To restrain him, Don sat on his chest and told Faruk to call Aziz Mohammad Bhai. Faruk stepped out and soon returned with Aziz. At that moment, Samira’s mother came out of the dressing room.
As the scuffle continued, they attempted to inject Salman, but failed due to his strength.
They then dragged him into the dressing room, tied his legs, and Aziz ordered Don to administer the injection. Samira pushed the syringe, assisted by her mother. However, it remains unclear what substance—or object—was inside the syringe.
Before that, Aziz threw a fan at Salman’s neck, according to Rizvi.
When Salman became motionless, Aziz Mohammad Bhai asked Rizvi to bring a ladder, which was kept inside the dressing room. After Rizvi brought the ladder, Aziz took a rope from Don’s waist and climbed up the steps himself to tie it to the ceiling fan.
Afterward, they untied Salman’s legs, pressed on his chest, and checked his neck to confirm that he was no longer breathing.
They left the rope slightly hanging so it would appear that the body had been taken down from hanging.
Earlier, as part of their plan, the house staff present in the flat were locked separately in the drawing room and the bathroom.
Afterwards, they all, except Samira, escaped through the back gate.
Later, to make it look like a suicide, the maids were instructed to massage oil on Salman’s body and place wet clothes on him.
As the group's car reached the Gabtoli bus stand, the Fajr prayer call was heard. Rizvi then went to Faridpur.
It was also planned that Samira’s mother would leave for Chittagong.
Rizvi’s arrest
The following year, on July 4, 1997, Don and David went to Rizvi’s home in Faridpur and later met at a hotel named Sugandha.
Don told him that the case had resurfaced and that he needed to help them since he had been involved.
A new plan was made to kidnap Salman’s younger brother, Biltu, by posing as Lenin, son of the late filmmaker Alamgir Kabir, who was Rizvi’s uncle.
On July 19, 1997, Rizvi went to Salman’s parents’ home pretending to be Lenin.
However, Salman’s parents became suspicious and informed the police, who then arrested Rizvi.
