On 25th April, Delhi Police arrested YouTuber and self-proclaimed ‘ex-Muslim’ Salim Wastik in connection with a 31-year-old kidnapping and murder case. The man who recently made headlines after surviving a brutal attack by Islamists at his Ghaziabad home was, in fact, a convicted murderer who had jumped bail and remained absconding for over 26 years.
Salim Wastik’s real name is Salim Khan. In 1997, a Sessions Court in North-East Delhi convicted him for the kidnapping and murder of 13-year-old Sandeep, son of a businessman. Following conviction, Salim appealed against the judgment in the Delhi High Court. In 2000, he was granted bail for two weeks. He never surrendered after that.
For decades, Salim lived under different names, moved across several places in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, rebuilt himself as Salim Wastik or Salim Ahmed, ran a local business and projected himself as a social activist. While doing so, he gained public visibility as a YouTuber known for his controversial views on Islam.
However, his decade-long escape from the law came to an end only after he was attacked by Islamists in February this year. Based on the information, the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch confirmed his identity using old records, photographs, and fingerprints, which led to his arrest. Reports suggest that he admitted during questioning that he was indeed the same Salim Khan who had been on the run since 2000.
OpIndia accessed case documents from the Delhi High Court. Here is the complete chronology of events starting from kidnapping, ransom, murder, arrest, conviction, and eventual arrest after remaining absconding for 26 years.
The 1995 kidnapping and murder case
The case dates back to 20th January 1995. 13-year-old Sandeep had a routine. He used to leave for school at around 11:30 am as he studied in the second shift at Ramjas School, Darya Ganj, which ran from 12:30 pm to 6:30 pm. Every day, he used to return home by around 7:30 pm. However, on that fateful day, Sandeep did not return.
At around 8:30 pm, his father, Sita Ram, became worried and informed his brother-in-law, Rajesh Goel, that Sandeep had not returned. The family searched for him through the evening and night. However, they could not trace the child.
On 21st January 1995, the case took a darker turn. At around 12:10 pm, Rajesh Goel received a phone call at the family shop in Kartar Singh Market, Sherpur Chowk, Kabul Nagar Road, Delhi. The caller asked whether the family knew where Sandeep was. When Rajesh said they did not know, the caller claimed that Sandeep was with them and that they would call again.
The family of the missing child immediately informed the police. Rajesh Goel’s statement was recorded, and an FIR was registered at Gokal Puri police station. The kidnappers made the second call at around 3 pm on the same day, and this time, the caller demanded Rs 30,000 as ransom.
The instructions were specific. Rajesh was told to bring the cash at 4:30 pm to the bus stand near Loni flyover. He was instructed to place the money in a bus going towards Baghpat, at the place where luggage is normally kept. The caller said the money would be collected from that, and then they would release Sandeep the next day. The caller also warned not to inform the police, otherwise Sandeep would be killed.
Police swung into action following the second call, and suspicion fell on Salim Khan. It was not a random suspicion. A neighbour, Ram Avtar, informed the police that on 20th January, at around 11:30 am, he had seen Sandeep sitting in a rickshaw with a tall boy. When Sandeep passed by him, he told Ram Avtar that he was going to school with “Masterji”. That “Masterji” was Salim Khan.
Salim Khan was a martial arts instructor at Ramjas School. He was known to Sandeep and his family. He had also visited their home and shop earlier. This familiarity became important as it explained why the child could have trusted him and gone without resistance.
Based on this information, the police went to Salim’s house. Sandeep’s father, uncle and neighbour accompany the police. When Salim saw the police, he got startled. During the interrogation, Salim made a disclosure statement and stated that he could get Sandeep’s dead body recovered from a drain in Mustafabad near the Bhagirath water pump.
He was taken to the spot, and Sandeep’s body was recovered from the ‘ganda nalah’ at Mustafabad. Sandeep’s father later identified the body. The recovery of Sandeep’s body on Salim’s instance became one of the strongest pieces of evidence against him.
During the investigation. Salim named Anil as his accomplice. On 22nd January 1995, the police searched Anil’s jhuggi but did not find anything. Anil was not present at that time. On 4th February 1995, Anil surrendered in court. According to presecution, Sandeep’s watch, tiffin box and school bag were recovered from Anil’s jhuggi on his instance. He had buried them in a plastic bag. The prosecution also relied on Rajesh Goel’s claim that he recognised Anil’s voice as the voice of the person who had made the ransom calls.
In 1997, the trial court convicted both Salim Khan and Anil. They were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, along with punishment for kidnapping and kidnapping for ransom.
Following the conviction, Salim Khan and Anil approached the Delhi High Court and filed an appeal against the judgment. The High Court noted that the case was based on circumstantial evidence. This meant the prosecution had to establish every circumstance beyond a reasonable doubt, and those circumstances had to form a complete chain pointing only towards the guilt of the accused.
In Anil’s case, the High Court found the chain broken. The prosecution’s case against Anil rested mainly on two things. First, the alleged recovery of Sandeep’s watch, tiffin box and school bag from his jhuggi. Second, Rajesh Goel’s claim that he recognised Anil’s voice as the voice of the caller.
The court found the recovery doubtful. It noted that Anil had surrendered after 14 days and that his jhuggi had already been searched earlier on 22nd January, when nothing had been found. The court also observed that the items were generic in nature, and it was not certain that they actually belonged to Sandeep.
The court further said it was unlikely that a person who was about to surrender before the judicial process would keep incriminating evidence hidden in his own jhuggi.
The voice identification was also rejected. Rajesh Goel claimed that he recognised Anil’s voice when Anil was allegedly making his disclosure statement before the police on 4th February 1995. However, he never disclosed this fact to the police at that time. He mentioned it for the first time only during his court testimony on 10th October 1996, more than one year and nine months after the incident.
The High Court also observed that a voice heard over the telephone and a voice heard in person may sound different. It added that recognising a telephone voice after a brief conversation and after such a long gap was difficult. The court also noted the issue of the question being a leading question under the Evidence Act.
The ransom call itself was also found doubtful. Sandeep’s father, Sita Ram, stated that there was only one call, while Rajesh Goel spoke about two calls. Rajesh Goel said no police officer was present when the second call was received, whereas a police witness said he was present at the shop when the second call came.
The medical evidence also complicated the ransom story. The doctor’s opinion suggested that the death had occurred roughly around the afternoon of 20th January, while the ransom calls were allegedly made on 21st January. This created doubt about whether Sandeep was even alive when the ransom call was made.
For these reasons, the High Court gave Anil the benefit of the doubt and acquitted him.
Salim Khan’s case, however, stood on a different footing. The court found that the testimony of neighbour, Ram Avtar, remained unshaken. The court also placed strong reliance on the recovery of Sandeep’s dead body at Salim Khan’s instance.
The High Court held that when the last seen evidence was coupled with the recovery of the body at Salim Khan’s instance, there could be no doubt that Salim Khan was responsible for Sandeep’s death.
The court also noted that Salim Khan failed to offer any explanation regarding these incriminating circumstances. However, due to doubts surrounding the ransom calls, the High Court set aside Salim Khan’s conviction for the same. His conviction for murder and kidnapping was upheld.
The court records also revealed that Salim Khan did not remain within the judicial process after conviction. He was granted bail for two weeks on 24th November 2000. He was supposed to surrender after the bail period ended, but he did not.
In July 2004, the Delhi High Court was formally informed that Salim did not surrender after the bail period was over. On 17th July 2004, the court directed the State to make all efforts to arrest him. On 25th September, the court issued non-bailable warrants (NBW) against Salim Khan to be executed through the SHO of Police Station Gokal Puri.
On 20th November 2004, the court noted that (NBW) could not be executed. Fresh NBW was issued, which again came back as Salim was untraceable. On 14th February 2005, the court again directed fresh non-bailable warrants against Salim Khan.
By 19th May 2005, the High Court made it clear that Salim Khan’s absence would not stop the appeal from being heard. The court observed that “the absence of the appellant need not detain us” and appointed advocate Sumeet Verma as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Salim Khan.
This means Salim Khan was not merely unavailable once. He had jumped bail, ignored the process of law, evaded repeated non-bailable warrants, and remained absconding even while his appeal was pending before the High Court.
In 2011, the Delhi High Court finally decided the appeal. Anil was acquitted. Salim Khan’s conviction for kidnapping and murder was upheld. The court set aside only the ransom charge under Section 364A IPC.
The High Court also noted that Salim Khan had been absconding after being released on bail and directed that he be taken into custody to serve the remainder of his sentence. However, Salim Khan continued to evade arrest for years.
A new identity as Salim Wastik
According to media reports, during his years on the run, Salim Khan lived under different aliases and moved across Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Ghaziabad. He worked as a furniture maker before settling in Loni, Ghaziabad. There, he reportedly ran a shop selling women’s clothing and accessories.
Over time, he built a public profile under the name Salim Wastik or Salim Ahmed. He projected himself as a social activist and operated a YouTube channel. Online, he became known as an ‘Ex-Muslim’ and posted controversial views on Islam.
He was not living like an unknown fugitive hiding in a remote corner. He had built a new public identity. Reports also suggest that he had recently signed a Bollywood biopic based on his life, even as his original identity as a convicted murderer remained hidden for years.
The February attack on Salim Wastik
On 27th February this year, Salim Wastik was brutally attacked at his residence in Ghaziabad. Two Islamists entered his house and attacked him with sharp objects. His throat was slit, and he suffered multiple deep stab wounds. In a purported video of the incident, two men wearing kurta pyjamas and helmets were seen approaching him while he sat on a sofa inside his home office. One of them took out a paper cutter and slashed at his neck. He was dragged to the ground and attacked repeatedly.
Salim Wastik survived the attack but remained hospitalised for weeks. The attackers were identified as brothers Gulfam and Zeeshan. Police described them as fanatics who were angered by Salim Wastik’s views on Islam.
Zeeshan was killed in a police encounter in Loni on 1st March. Gulfam was killed in another encounter in Indirapuram on 3rd March. Police said both fired at the police and were shot in self-defence. Both carried a bounty of Rs 1 lakh each.
Ironically, the attack that nearly killed Salim Wastik also brought renewed attention to his identity. After the attack, Salim Wastik was under treatment and police protection. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police Crime Branch received intelligence that the man known as Salim Wastik could be the absconding convict Salim Khan from the 1995 kidnapping and murder case.
A team of the Anti-Robbery and Snatching Cell of the Crime Branch began verification. Inspector Robin Tyagi and ACP Sanjay Kumar Nagpal, along with police personnel, including Mintu Yadav, were tasked with tracing long-term fugitive offenders and parole jumpers. The team checked old records, photographs and fingerprint details.
The verification confirmed that YouTuber Salim Wastik was indeed Salim Khan, the convict who had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1997 and had absconded after securing interim bail in 2000. With the help of the local police in Loni, Delhi Police finally arrested him.
During interrogation, Salim reportedly told the police that after jumping bail, he continuously changed locations and identities to avoid arrest. After completing legal formalities, Salim Khan has been sent to Tihar Jail to serve the life sentence awarded to him in 1997 and upheld by the Delhi High Court in 2011.
For over 26 years, Salim Khan was not merely a wanted man. He was a convicted murderer who had killed a child and absconded for decades. While ignoring court proceedings, he became so confident that he reinvented himself under a new identity and lived publicly as a YouTuber and social activist.
The attack on him made headlines, and eventually, his dark side was revealed.
