Don’s bail plea rejected in Salman Shah murder case

A court has rejected the bail plea of actor Ashraful Haque, better known as Don, in the murder case filed over the death of popular Bangladeshi film actor Salman Shah.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Ehsanul Islam passed the order after a hearing on Wednesday. Omar Faruq Faruki, a lawyer representing the prosecution, confirmed the matter to Prothom Alo.

According to court sources, Don’s lawyers sought bail for him, while the prosecution opposed the plea. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court rejected the bail application.

Don was arrested at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on 9 August. He was later produced before the court by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is investigating the case. The CID sought an order to keep him in custody, following which the court sent him to jail.

Salman Shah died on 6 September, 1996. His death has been the subject of years of speculation and debate over its “actual cause.” Twenty-nine years after his death, a court last year ordered that a murder case be filed over his death.

In October last year, Alamgir Kumkum, maternal uncle of Salman Shah, filed the case with Ramna Police Station in Dhaka on behalf of Salman’s mother, Neela Chowdhury.

The case names 11 accused, including Salman Shah’s former wife Samira Haque and actor Don. The other accused are Samira’s mother Latifa Haque Lucy, businessman Aziz Mohammad Bhai, David, Javed, Faruk, Ruby, A. Sattar, Saju and Rezvi Ahmed alias Farhad.

The case is being investigated by the CID. The court has set 30 August as the deadline for submission of the investigation report.