The unnatural death case of Salman Shah has recently been reclassified as a murder case. For the past 29 years, his family and fans have been reluctant to accept his death as a suicide and have been demanding justice in various ways.
Salman fan Masud Rana Naqib has chosen a novel approach. He has been travelling on the metro with a poster reading, ‘I want justice for Salman’s murder’. Speaking to The TIMES of Bangladesh, Naqib said, ‘I have done this to attract the attention of Salman Shah fans and conscious citizens of the country. People will take an interest in the issue again after seeing the poster. They have also told us that they want justice for Salman Shah’s murder.’
Previously, Naqib organised various protests, including human chains and poster campaigns across districts of the country, including Dhaka. A few years ago, he stood alone with a banner at the National Press Club demanding justice for Salman Shah’s death.
On the orders of the court, the hero’s maternal uncle, Alamgir Kumkum, filed the Salman Shah murder case on October 21. The case names 11 people as accused, including film producer Aziz Mohammad Bhai, Salman’s ex-wife Sameera and the actor who played the villain Don in his films.
On September 6, 1996, Salman Shah’s body was found hanging from a fan in his Eskaton residence in Dhaka. Following this, multiple agencies, including the police, CID, RAB and PBI, conducted investigations. Although all reports initially concluded the death was a suicide, the investigating agency was changed several times due to objections from Salman’s family.
In his short life of only 25 years, Salman Shah acted in 27 films, all of which were commercially successful. In the 1990s, he helped start a new trend of romantic heroes in the country’s cinema. Hits included ‘Keyamat Theke Keyamat’, ‘Shopner Prithibi’, ‘Ontore Ontore’, ‘Bikkhov’, ‘Chaowa Theke Paowa’ and ‘Prem Juddho’.
