Police have arrested actor Ashraful Haque Don, known for playing villainous roles in Bangladeshi films, in connection with the murder case over the death of popular actor Salman Shah. Don was arrested on Sunday (9 August) in the area of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and was subsequently handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Kamrul Hasan Talukder, officer-in-charge of Airport Police Station, confirmed the arrest. According to him, Don was detained by immigration police at the airport before a CID team took him into custody. As the investigation into the case is currently being conducted by the CID, the actor was transferred to the agency for further legal proceedings. He is expected to be taken before a court as part of the process.
Salman Shah’s death remains one of the most enduring and controversial cases in the history of Bangladesh’s film industry. The actor was found dead at his residence in New Eskaton, Dhaka, on 6 September 1996. His death was initially recorded as an unnatural death. His family, however, maintained that he had been murdered and subsequently pursued legal action seeking a fresh investigation.
The case has passed through several stages of investigation over the years. On 3 November 1997, the CID submitted a final report concluding that Salman Shah had died by suicide. A judicial inquiry was subsequently conducted, while the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), after examining the matter much later, also concluded that the death was a suicide.
Those findings remained contested by Salman Shah’s family and a section of his supporters, keeping the case alive in public debate for decades. Questions surrounding the circumstances of his death continued to generate interest among fans and people associated with the film industry.
A significant development came in 2025, when legal proceedings opened the way for the death to be pursued as a murder case. On 21 October that year, Salman Shah’s maternal uncle, Mohammad Alamgir, filed a murder case at Ramna Police Station in Dhaka. Eleven people, including Salman Shah’s former wife Samira Haque, were named as accused. Don was also listed as one of the accused in the case.
The CID was subsequently assigned responsibility for investigating the new murder case. The submission of the investigation report has, however, been delayed several times. On 23 July, the court extended the deadline for submitting the report until 30 August after the investigating officer failed to submit it within the previously scheduled timeframe.
Against this backdrop, Don’s arrest has drawn fresh attention to the investigation, particularly because it came only a few weeks before the latest deadline for submitting the report. Investigators are now expected to examine the allegations against him and other accused individuals as part of the wider investigation.
An arrest, however, does not establish guilt. Don has been taken into custody as an accused in the case, and the allegations against him must be established through evidence and due legal process. The findings of the investigation and the evidence presented before the court will determine the subsequent course of the case.
Nearly three decades after Salman Shah’s death, questions surrounding the circumstances of the actor’s final days continue to resonate with his family, fans and the wider film community. Don’s arrest has brought the long-running case back into the spotlight, with attention now focused on the CID’s investigation, the forthcoming report and the court’s next steps.
