Exhumation order of Salman Shah’s remains not cancelled, court says

An inconsistency emerged on Tuesday regarding a court order on the exhumation of actor Salman Shah’s remains nearly three decades after his death.

The prosecution division clarified that the earlier exhumation order had not been revoked; rather, the court had kept the cancellation petition on record.

On the day, Md Alamgir Kumkum, the complainant in the case and maternal uncle of Salman Shah, submitted a petition to the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Jewel Rana seeking cancellation of the previous order that permitted the exhumation of the late actor’s remains.

Following the hearing on the petition, a police officer reportedly read out an order in open court, stating that the complainant’s petition had been accepted and that the earlier exhumation order had been cancelled.

Several media outlets later reported that the court had revoked the exhumation order based on the announcement.

However, later in the day, prosecution department Sub-Inspector Shah Alam clarified that the court had kept the petition on record instead of cancelling the earlier order.

The complainant’s lawyer, Abid Hasan, expressed frustration over the development and said, “I do not understand how this happened. There should be greater transparency in the proceedings.” There should have been no scope for such a mistake, he added.

Alamgir Kumkum also expressed surprise over the clarification, saying, “I heard it myself that the court accepted the petition. But now I am hearing that it was only recorded.”

SI Shah Alam later explained that a police officer had mistakenly announced the order in open court. "In fact, the court only kept the petition on record. The exhumation order remains unchanged,” he said.