Salman Shah murder case verdict set for Oct 20

The hearing for the revision petition challenging the closure of the Salman Shah murder case has concluded, with the court scheduling the verdict for October 20.

Sixth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md. Jannatul Ferdous Ibn-e-Haque made the announcement on Monday while advocate Md. Obaidullah, representing the petitioner, confirmed the date.

Salman Shah, a beloved Bangladeshi film actor, died on September 6, 1996. His father, Kamruddin Ahmad Chowdhury, initially filed an accidental death case, and later, on July 24, 1997, filed a case alleging murder. The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Dhaka directed the CID to investigate both cases together. The CID’s final report submitted on November 3, 1997, concluded the death was a suicide.

Despite this, Kamruddin Ahmad filed a revision petition. The case was later sent for judicial scrutiny on May 19, 2003, and after 11 years, the report was submitted on August 3, 2014, again labeling the death accidental. Following Kamruddin Ahmad’s passing, Salman Shah’s mother, Nila Chowdhury, became the petitioner.

She challenged the judicial inquiry report at the CMM court in February 2015, and the case was investigated by the PBI, which submitted its final report on February 25, 2020. The court accepted the PBI report on October 31, 2021, effectively closing the case. The petitioner subsequently filed a revision petition in June 2022.

The revision argues that Salman Shah was murdered, but repeated investigations have deemed his death accidental. The petitioner claims that the circumstances of the death were influenced externally, suppressing the truth, and calls for further investigation.