Death of Salman Shah It was murder, not suicide

Silver screen actor Shahriar Chowdhury Imon popularly known as Salman Shah. File photo

Actor Salman Shah's mother Nilufar Chowdhury yesterday said her son didn't kill himself, he was murdered.

Twenty one long years after the popular movie star's death, Salman's mother is still hopeful that justice will be served to the bereaved family.

“Many longstanding cases have been solved during this government's tenure. I hope the mystery in this case will be revealed too,” Nilufar said at a media briefing at National Press Club yesterday.

Nilufar alleged that in the past, there have been “intentional” efforts to establish the case as a suicide case.

Salman Shah, born Shahriar Chowdhury Emon, was a popular silver screen actor in the 90s. He mysteriously died on September 6, 1996 at the age of 25. His father Kamaruddin Chowdhury had filed an unnatural death case which he later turned into a murder case.

Later, the case took a dramatic turn when one Rezvi Ahmed in a confessional statement said he had killed Salman with the help of Salman's wife and mother-in-law and eight other accomplices. Rezvi, however, later disowned his confession given before the police.

On December 7 last year, a Dhaka court transferred the case to the Police Bureau of Investigation for fresh inquiry. The court passed order after Salman's mother Nilufar Chowdhury filed a no-confidence petition against the February 10, 2015 order that directed the Rapid Action Battalion to investigate the case.

On July 9, 2014, Metropolitan Magistrate Imdadul Haque submitted a probe report that found no indication of murder, and reported that the actor had committed suicide at his Eskaton residence on September 6, 1996.