Long story short: In a surprise twist, the victim of the stabbing incident was revealed to be the child killer in the three-decade-old case. “Salim Wastik”, who remade his identity to become a famous YouTuber after killing a businessman’s son in 1995, was recently arrested by the Delhi Police in Ghaziabad. In February this year, Salim was stabbed by two men who accused him of insulting the Prophet in his YouTube videos.
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The whole story
The Delhi Crime Branch on Saturday said it has arrested Salim Wastik, an absconding accused in a 31-year-old kidnapping-murder case.
According to a statement shared by news agency ANI, police said Salim Wastik, who was in the news recently for his controversial statements and YouTube videos, was convicted of a serious crime in 1995 and had been on the run from the law for years.
They said the murder case dates back to 1995, when Sandeep Bansal, the 13-year-old son of a businessman from northeast Delhi, was kidnapped.
In 1997, a court sentenced Salim Khan and his accomplice Anil to life imprisonment.
After the Delhi High Court granted him interim bail in 2000, Salim fled and never returned, police said.
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They further revealed that the investigation confirmed this using old records, fingerprints and photographs. The police then arrested him in Loni, Ghaziabad.
According to NDTV, Salim was sentenced to life imprisonment in Tihar Jail on charges of kidnapping, extortion and murder.
A 1995 murder case
On January 20, 1995, Sandeep Bansal’s 13-year-old son left for school in Delhi but never returned.
According to NDTV, the family searched but did not find the boy. The next day, the businessman received a call that his son had been kidnapped.
The kidnapper demanded a ransom ₹30,000 for his safe release. They instructed the businessman to leave the money in the bus near the Loni flyover and warned that the child would be killed if he informed the police, the report added.
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The kidnappers ordered the businessman to leave the money in a bus near the Loni flyover and warned that the child would be killed if he informed the police. However, the family immediately informed the police and a case was registered at the Gokulpuri police station.
During the investigation, a neighbor of the businessman reported seeing a child riding an autorickshaw with a tall boy named ‘Masterji’.
Based on this input, the police tracked down Saleem Khan (now Saleem Wastik). He allegedly confessed to the crime and led the police to a sewer in Mustafabad, where the child’s body was found.
Fake Identity: Saleem Khan or YouTuber Saleem Wastik?
Saleem Khan, who was then a martial arts instructor at a school in Daryaganj, absconded after he was granted anticipatory bail on November 24, 2000. In 2011, the Delhi High Court upheld his sentence, but he was still at large until then, NDTV reported.
Saleem claimed himself dead and assumed a new identity. He allegedly lived under the aliases Salim Wastik and Salim Ahmed.
He lived in hiding for the next 26 years in areas like Karnal and Ambala in Haryana. According to NDTV, he worked as a wardrobe maker.
Later, in 2010, he moved to Loni area of Ghaziabad where he opened a women’s clothing store.
Saleem also established himself as a social activist and YouTuber – who was soon known for his controversial statements and videos, especially on issues related to terrorism and religion. He earned a reputation as an “ex-Muslim”, reported the Indian Express.
A Bollywood producer has also decided to make a biopic on him, NDTV and Times of India reported. He was even given a deposit ₹1.5 million per project. However, Saleem was arrested before this could happen.
The stabbing incident
In February this year, Saleem alias Salim was stabbed multiple times by two men at his house in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, leaving him in a critical condition. He was stabbed more than 10 times in the abdomen, according to the Times of India.
A nearly four-minute CCTV footage of the incident showed two men, identified as Zeeshan and his brother Gulfam, entered the YouTuber’s house and slashed him with a knife.
A video clip showed Saleem sitting on a sofa watching a video on his mobile phone when two attackers – both wearing pajamas and a kurta jacket – entered his house through a glass door.
They arrived on a motorcycle without a license plate, wearing helmets that they did not take off. Within a few seconds, they started stabbing the YouTuber.
The attackers were heard saying, “You are insulting our Prophet, you are insulting our Lord,” NDTV reported.
The defendant allegedly tried to cut his throat. Saleem’s son Usman filed the suit.
Both accused who carried the reward ₹1 lakh, were killed in two separate encounters with the police. While Zeeshan was killed on March 1, Gulfam succumbed to his injuries on March 3.
