Special Correspondent; Dbarta24 — In a dramatic twist to one of Bangladesh cinema’s most notorious cold cases, police have arrested prominent villain actor Don Haq in connection with the murder case of iconic film star Chowdhury Mohammad Shahriar Emon, widely known as Salman Shah.
Immigration police detained Don on Sunday afternoon (August 9) in the Dhaka airport area before handing him over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for questioning.
Kamrul Hasan Talukdar, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Airport Police Station, confirmed the arrest to reporters. “Immigration police initially detained Don in the airport area. Shortly after, a team from CID arrived and took custody of him, as the CID is currently leading the investigation into the Salman Shah murder case,” he stated.
A Decades-Long Legal Battle Reopened
The death of Salman Shah on September 6, 1996, at his New Eskaton residence in the capital sent shockwaves across the nation.
Initially filed as an unnatural death case by his late father, Kamaruddin Ahmad Chowdhury, the family quickly alleged foul play.
On July 24, 1997, his father formally petitioned the court to convert the investigation into a murder inquiry under Sections 302 and 34 of the Penal Code.
For nearly three decades, the case remained shrouded in controversy. In November 1997, CID submitted a final report classifying the death as a suicide, which was initially accepted by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court.
However, Salman Shah’s family relentlessly contested the findings through revision petitions.
A breakthrough occurred on October 20, 2025, when Dhaka Sixth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md. Jannatul Ferdous Ibn Haq granted the revision petition filed by the plaintiff’s side. The court officially instructed authorities to accept and process the matter as a murder case.
Following the court order, Salman Shah’s maternal uncle, Mohammad Alamgir, filed a formal murder complaint at Ramna Police Station on October 21. The suit names 11 individuals as primary accused alongside several unidentified co-conspirators.
Among the high-profile defendants are Salman Shah’s widow, Samira Haq, industrialist and former film producer Aziz Mohammad Bhai, villain actor Don, Latifa Haq Luci, David, Javed, Farooq, Ruby from May-Fair Beauty Center, Abdus Sattar, Saju, and Rezvi Ahmed Farhad.
Chilling Details in the Murder Complaint
According to the official complaint, on the day of the incident, Salman Shah’s mother, Neela Chowdhury, his father, and his younger brother, Shahran Shah, visited the New Eskaton residence and were informed by staff that the actor was sleeping.
Shortly after leaving, they received an urgent call from production manager Salim indicating that something was terribly wrong.
Upon rushing back, the family discovered Salman lying unresponsive in his bedroom while several women were rubbing oil on his hands and feet. Ruby, a relative of Samira, was present in an adjacent room.
The complaint alleges that as the family pleaded to rush the star to the hospital, visible rope marks were noticed on his neck, along with bluish discoloration on his face and feet. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at Dhaka Medical College Hospital via Holy Family Hospital.
Exhumation and Ongoing Investigation
As CID intensifies its probe into the 30-year-old mystery, investigators have taken aggressive legal measures. Earlier on May 20, the investigating officer petitioned the court to exhumate the actor’s remains for a fresh autopsy and inquest report, which was approved on May 24.
Subsequently, on June 22, Sylhet Additional District Magistrate Pinky Saha was appointed as the executive magistrate to oversee the exhumation process.
With the legal machinery now fully in motion, the investigating agency is scheduled to submit its formal investigation report to the court by August 30.
The arrest of actor Don is widely regarded as a significant breakthrough in unraveling the true circumstances behind the tragic demise of one of Bangladesh’s most celebrated screen legends.