Salman Shah died of suicide, says PBI, mother disagrees

GBNEWS24DESK//

Bangla filmdom’s popular actor Salman Shah was not killed, rather he had committed suicide due to family feud, said Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) in its final report which was submitted to the court on Sunday.

The PBI submitted the report to Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mamunur Rashid’s court.

Meanwhile, Salman Shah’s mother Neela Chowdhury filed a Naraji (no confidence) petition against the PBI report through her lawyer Faruq Ahmed. At the same time, Neela Chowdhury requested the court to take her virtual statement. Due to absence of complainant of the case, the court dismissed the petition.

Salman Shah’s mother’s lawyer Faruq Ahmed confirmed the matter.

Faruq Ahmed, however expressed displeasure over the report.

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 (CMM) Court, stating that Salman Shah was not murdered, but committed 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 Huque; 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, 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 Rizvi Ahmed alias Farhad, a fan of Salman, was arrested in the case, turning it from “unnatural death” to “murder”.

Rizvi, 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 Rizvi’s first statement, PBI officials said he 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.

Rizvi 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 Faruq Ahmed said they would go to the higher court against the lower court’s order.