In a dramatic breakthrough, the Delhi Police on Saturday arrested a man who had been on the run for over two decades in a 1995 kidnapping and murder case, and who had recently been living under a new identity as a YouTuber.
The accused, identified as Salim Wastik — originally named Salim Khan — was apprehended from his residence in Loni, Ghaziabad, following a sustained effort by police teams tracking his movements.
The case dates back to January 20, 1995, when 13-year-old Sandeep Bansal, the son of a businessman from Northeast Delhi, was abducted. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs 30,000 and issued threats to kill the boy if their demands were not met.
During the investigation, suspicion fell on Salim, who was working as a martial arts instructor at the victim’s school. He was arrested later that year, and based on his disclosure, the police recovered the boy’s body.
In 1997, a trial court sentenced Salim to life imprisonment. However, in 2000, he secured interim bail from the Delhi High Court and subsequently absconded, evading authorities for years.
To escape detection, he allegedly assumed multiple identities, frequently shifting his base across Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
Investigators revealed that Salim went to extraordinary lengths to avoid capture, including getting himself officially declared deceased to mislead law enforcement agencies and the courts.
Under the alias “Salim Wastik,” he later settled in Loni, where he started a small clothing business. In recent years, he had also become active on YouTube, sharing photos and videos while presenting himself under his assumed identity.
Police sources said that sustained surveillance and intelligence inputs eventually led to his arrest on Saturday morning. Officials are now probing how he managed to evade arrest for so long and whether others assisted him during his years in hiding.
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