Salim Khan aka Salim Wastik Arrested After 31 Years in 1995 Kidnap-M murder
Salim Khan aka Salim Wastik Arrested After 31 Years in 1995 Kidnap-M murder
Delhi Police arrest Salim Khan alias Salim Wastik after 31 years in a 1995 kidnap-murder case, spotlighting a long pursuit and the rise of online fame.
Delhi Police arrested Salim Khan, also known as Salim Wastik, after more than three decades on the run, in connection with the 1995 kidnapping and murder of a 13-year-old boy. The case, which ended with a life sentence in 1997, took a dramatic turn when Khan received bail in 2000 and failed to surrender, prompting a prolonged manhunt that spanned multiple states.
Khan reportedly reinvented himself online, presenting himself as a social activist and YouTuber while changing his name and moving across Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The latest development came as the Crime Branch of Delhi Police tracked him to Ghaziabad, where he was apprehended in the Loni area. Police officials said the arrest closes a long chapter in a case that had persisted in the public imagination due to Khan's controversial online persona and the mystery surrounding his years on the run.
The 1995 case began in North East Delhi when the 13-year-old son of a cement businessman was abducted, with a ransom of ₹30,000 reportedly demanded the following day. A neighbor later saw the boy leaving with a tall man, and the body was later found in a drain in Mustafabad. Khan and a co-accused were convicted in 1997 and sentenced to life imprisonment, but his bail in 2000 and subsequent disappearance kept the case in the shadows for years. Police say the arrest underscores the force’s ongoing commitment to pursuing long-standing cases and delivering accountability, even decades after the crime.
