Court rejects Don’s bail plea in Salman Shah murder case

Salman Shah (L) and Ashraful Haque Don. Photo: Collected

A Dhaka court on Wednesday rejected a bail petition filed on behalf of actor Ashraful Haque Don, who was arrested days ago in a case filed over the murder of popular actor Salman Shah.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Ehsanul Islam passed the order after the hearing, court sources said.

Earlier in the day, Don’s lawyers, including M Faridul Islam and Tariqul Islam Jewel, filed the bail petition before the court. However, Public Prosecutor Omar Faruk Faruqui opposed the petition.

The bail petition said the FIR did not state any specific allegation against Don and claimed that he was not involved in the alleged incident.

Don, who is known for playing villainous roles in films, was arrested on 9 August by immigration police at Shahjalal International Airport and was later handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The development comes amid a renewed investigation into the long-running Salman Shah murder case, which has remained a subject of public interest in Bangladesh for decades.

Salman Shah was found dead at his Dhaka residence on 6 September 1996. Though initially ruled a suicide, a Dhaka court reclassified the case as a murder in October 2025 following a revision petition filed by Salman Shah’s maternal uncle, Mohammad Alamgir.

He filed the case against 11 people, including Salman’s wife, Samira Haque, and actor Don, with Ramna Police Station in the capital. The other accused are Aziz Mohammad Bhai, Samira’s mother Latifa Haque Lusi, David, Zaved, Faruk, Ruby, A Sattar, Saju and Rijvi Ahmed Farhad.