Salman Shah’s Body to Be Exhumed, Court Orders

In a major breakthrough toward unraveling the mystery behind the death of legendary silver screen icon Salman Shah (Choudhury Mohammad Shahriar Emon), a Dhaka court has granted permission to exhale his body from his grave for a fresh autopsy and inquest report under the direct supervision of an executive magistrate. Following a formal petition filed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana passed the executive order on May 24. CID Inspector Ziaul Morshed, the chief investigating officer of the case, officially confirmed the developments to the media today, Wednesday.

"To uncover the actual cause behind the celebrity's death, we filed a petition requesting the exhumation of Salman Shah’s body in the presence of an executive magistrate to conduct a thorough physical inquest and perform a secondary autopsy. The honorable court has granted our plea. Following the completion of some procedural formalities, we will exhume the remains from the grave to proceed with the medical examinations." — Ziaul Morshed, CID Inspector and Investigating Officer

The Fatal Timeline of September 6, 1996

According to the official court deposition, the case's formal complainant, Md. Almangir (68)—who is authorized to act on behalf of Salman Shah’s mother, Nilufar Zaman Choudhury Neela Choudhury—detailed the suspicious sequence of events that unfolded on the fateful morning of September 6, 1996. At approximately 9:30 AM, Salman's mother Neela Choudhury, his late father Kamaruddin Ahmad Choudhury, and his younger brother Shahran Shah visited Salman’s residence at 11/B Iskaton Plaza on New Iskaton Road. Upon arrival, the actor's wife, Samira Haq, and a domestic helper named Abul informed them that Salman was fast asleep. The family subsequently returned to their residence on Green Road.

However, around 11:30 AM, they received an urgent telephone call from Salman’s apartment, asking them to rush back immediately as something terrible had happened to the actor. Upon racing back to the New Iskaton apartment, the family discovered Salman Shah lying completely motionless and lifeless on the bed in his bedroom. He was immediately rushed to the Holy Family Hospital, where the attending doctors referred him to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). The emergency physicians at DMCH officially pronounced the film star dead on arrival. Following an initial post-mortem, his body was transported to Sylhet and buried within the graveyard premises of the Hazrat Shahjalal (R.) Mazar. An unnatural death case was subsequently registered with the Ramna Police Station on September 6, 1996.

Transition from Unnatural Death to Preplanned Murder

For decades, the case remained classified under an unnatural death file. However, a major legal shift occurred on October 20 last year, when Dhaka's 6th Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Md. Jannatul Ferdous Ibne Haque, approved a revision petition filed by the family, explicitly directing authorities to accept the matter as a regular homicide case. Consequently, on October 21, Salman Shah’s maternal uncle, Mohammad Alamgir, filed a formal murder case at the Ramna Police Station under Sections 302 and 34 of the Penal Code.

The murder charge sheet lists 11 specific high-profile individuals as accused alongside several other unidentified suspects. The principal accused listed in the first information report include Salman Shah's wife Samira Haq, prominent industrialist and former film producer Aziz Mohammad Bhai, Latifa Haq Lucy, film antagonist Don, David, Javed, Faruk, Ruby who is the proprietor of May-Fair Beauty Center, Abdus Sattar, Saju, and 17-year-old Rezvi Ahmed Farhad. The investigating authorities clarified that if any of the named accused individuals are found to have passed away over the intervening decades, they will be officially exempted from the trial’s liabilities upon verification of valid legal proof.

Suspicious Discrepancies Detailed in the FIR

In the formal regular case logs, Mohammad Alamgir highlighted several glaring discrepancies that point toward a preplanned murder rather than suicide. He noted that when the family rushed back to the Iskaton residence following the emergency phone call, they found Salman’s room occupied by several external, unidentified women who were aggressively massaging oil onto his hands and feet, while Samira's relative Ruby sat passively in the adjacent room. As Salman’s mother screamed for him to be taken to the hospital immediately, the family noticed clear rope marks around his neck and distinct bluish discoloration across his face and legs during transportation.

The FIR further mentions that prior to his own demise, Salman's father, Kamaruddin Ahmad Choudhury, had deeply suspected foul play and had filed a petition with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s court on July 24, 1997, demanding that the case be converted into a murder investigation under CID oversight. Following his brother-in-law's death, Alamgir stepped up to manage the legal battle on behalf of his sister. The complainant asserts that the accused individuals acted in consensus and under a preplanned conspiracy to assassinate the iconic actor.