‘Ex-Muslim’ YouTuber Salim Wastik, attacked by two brothers, turns out to be a ‘killer’

Within days, the Uttar Pradesh police gunned down both the brothers in separate encounters in Ghaziabad.

The dramatic twist in the tale came on Saturday (April 25) – when the Delhi Police Crime Branch caught up with the man himself.

Salim Khan alias Salim Ahmed, famous on YouTube as Salim Wastik, has been taken into custody for the crime he committed in 1995 – a full 31 years ago, police said.

A kidnapping, ransom call, and the murder of a child

Salim, who police said had been evading arrest for decades, and had reinvented himself as a “social activist”, was apprehended in Loni in Ghaziabad. He had been convicted in the abduction and murder of Sandeep Bansal, the 13-year-old son of a cement trader from North East Delhi, in 1997, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sanjeev Yadav said.

“The crime took place in January 1995, when the child left home for school but never returned. The following day, the boy’s father received a phone call informing him that his son had been kidnapped and demanding a ransom of Rs 30,000 for his safe release,” Yadav said.

The caller told the traumatised father to deliver the money at a spot near the Loni flyover, police said. However, before any exchange could take place, suspicion fell on the martial arts instructor at the victim’s school.

That man was Salim Khan – the latter-day Salim Wastik.

Based on witness statements, police detained Salim. During interrogation, Salim allegedly confessed to the crime, and led the police to a drain in Mustafabad. There, police found the body of the child, Yadav said.

Further investigations revealed the involvement of an associate named Anil. It was this man – Anil – who had allegedly made the ransom calls and helped plan the kidnapping.

Both Salim and Anil were arrested. In 1997, two years after the murder, a court in Delhi convicted both men and sentenced them to life imprisonment, Yadav said.

Three years later, in 2000, Salim was granted interim bail by the Delhi High Court during the pendency of his appeal. He came out – never to return.

In 2011, while Salim was still absconding, the High Court upheld his conviction.

A ‘dead man’ who was reborn on the Internet – and escaped a murderous attack

Police officers said that during the time Salim was on the run, he went to great lengths to avoid capture. He managed to show up as “dead” in official records, the police said. And he then assumed a new identity – Salim Wastik, or Salim Ahmed, was born.

Over the years, the new Salim moved across parts of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, working various jobs including as a furniture maker, police said. He eventually settled in Loni, Ghaziabad.

In Loni, Salim established his new life, running a shop selling women’s clothing and accessories. He also gained local recognition as a social activist and operated a YouTube channel, which helped him build a public profile under his assumed identity of Salim Wastik.

In the morning of February 27 this year, two brothers, Gulfam and Zeeshan, entered Salim’s home and allegedly attacked him with a razor, stabbing him in the abdomen and slashing his neck.

In a purported video of the alleged attack, two men wearing kurta-pyjamas were seen approaching Salim, who was seated on a sofa in his home office. The men had their faces covered by helmets they were wearing.

One of the men could be seen taking out a paper cutter from a pocket of his kurta and slashing at Salim’s neck. Salim was seen being dragged to the ground, and hit multiple times with a piece of glass from a broken table. The men could be seen leaving him lying on the bloody floor.

Salim Wastik survived the attack. He was admitted to hospital with deep wounds.

Police identified the attackers as 22-year-old Zeeshan and his older brother Gulfam (35). They said the brothers were “fanatics” who had been offended by the views on Islam that Salim Wastik expressed on YouTube.

On March 1, Zeeshan was shot dead in a police encounter in Loni. Two days later, on March 3, Gulfam was killed in the Indirapuram area, also in Ghaziabad. Both encounters took place at night, and police said they opened fire in each case in self-defence after the brothers fired at them. Both men were declared dead in hospital. Each of the brothers carried a bounty of Rs 1 lakh on his head.

Delhi Police step in – the end of the road for Salim Wastik

The story took a dramatic new turn on Saturday.

A dedicated team of the Anti-Robbery and Snatching Cell (ARSC) of the Crime Branch received specific intelligence about a man matching the description of the absconding convict, Salim Khan.

Acting on this input, officers conducted surveillance and cross-verified details using old photographs and fingerprint records. The investigation confirmed that YouTuber Salim Wastik was indeed the same person who had been convicted in the 1995 murder case, and had disappeared after jumping bail, police said.

A special team led by Inspector Robin Tyagi, under the supervision of ACP Sanjay Kumar Nagpal, was formed to apprehend him.

With assistance from the local police in Loni, the team successfully arrested the accused after weeks of tracking his movements. Ironically, after his discharge from hospital in March, Wastik was provided with security by the Uttar Pradesh Police.

During interrogation, Salim is learned to have told officers that after jumping bail, he continuously changed locations and identities to avoid detection. His ability to remain undetected for over two decades underscores significant gaps that investigators have now managed to close through persistent efforts and modern verification techniques.

After completing all legal formalities, the accused has been sent to Tihar Jail to serve his life sentence. Police officials stated that this arrest demonstrates their continued commitment to ensuring that even long-pending cases reach their rightful conclusion.