A man wanted for a 1995 murder of a 13-year-old boy in Delhi has been arrested after a 31-year wait. Salim Khan, also known as Salim Wastik, posed as a social activist and YouTuber.
He was finally nabbed by the Delhi Police in Loni, Ghaziabad, after evading arrest by travelling through Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
The case pertains to the kidnapping and murder of a 13-year-old son of a businessman in 1995. Salim Khan, a martial arts instructor at the Ramjas School, demanded a ransom of ₹30,000 from the businessman.
After a neighbour saw the child leaving in a rickshaw with a tall boy, suspicion arose on Salim Khan. He revealed that he had killed the child and dumped his body at a drain in Mustafabad.
Two years later, in August 1997, Salim and his co-accused, Anil, were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
However, Salim Khan appealed against the verdict and was granted bail in November 2000. He didn't surrender after the expiry of the bail and remained absconding, travelling through states, including Haryana.
He worked as an Almirah Maker in Karnal and Ambala, before settling in Ghaziabad. In 2010, he settled in Loni, Ghaziabad, where he assumed a new identity as one Salim Wastik, aka Salim Ahmed.
A team of Delhi Police was tasked to maintain surveillance and nab the parole jumpers involved in crimes. A head constable received a tip that a famous YouTuber, Salim Khan, was involved in a 31-years-old kidnapping for ransom and murder.
The police pursued the case and the details of the convict, including his old photograph and fingerprints, were collected from court records. He was soon arrested in a raid by a team of Delhi Police Crime Branch, along with the Ghaziabad Police.
