The second accused in the brutal attack on YouTuber Ex-Muslim Saleem Wastik was killed in a police encounter in Ghaziabad on Tuesday night, 3rd March. The accused, Mohammad Gulfam, who carried a reward of ₹1 lakh, was shot during an exchange of fire with the police in the Indirapuram area and later declared dead at the hospital.
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According to officials, the incident took place when the Ghaziabad Police Crime Branch and SWAT team received information that Gulfam was moving in the Indirapuram police station area. Police teams set up a checkpoint near the Vasundhara Power House to catch him. Late at night, two men were seen coming on a motorcycle. When the police tried to stop them, they attempted to escape and sped towards the elevated road.
Police chased the motorcycle, but the vehicle slipped after hitting a mound of earth, and both men fell. As officers moved in to arrest them, the suspects opened fire. During the firing, Head Constables Pushpendra Kumar Shukla and Sandeep Kumar were injured. ACP Amit Saxena, Inspector Puran Singh and Bobby Singh were also hit by bullets on their bulletproof jackets. A bullet passed close to the ear of the SWAT team in charge, Anil Kumar, narrowly missing him.
Police then returned fire, during which Gulfam was hit by a bullet. He was taken to a hospital but died during treatment. His accomplice managed to escape in the darkness. Officials later confirmed his identity through an Aadhaar card found on him. Gulfam was a resident of the Amroha district and had been living in a rented house in Ghaziabad.
Police said Gulfam was the elder brother of Zeeshan, the main accused in the attack on Saleem Wastik alias Saleem Ahmed. Zeeshan was also killed in a police encounter on March 1st and had a reward of ₹1 lakh on his head. Both brothers were among the suspects in the attack that took place on February 27th in the Loni area of Ghaziabad.
On that morning, two helmet-wearing men reached Saleem Wastik’s office in the Ali Garden area and attacked him with sharp weapons. According to police, the attackers stabbed him several times on his neck, stomach and ear before fleeing on a motorcycle. Saleem was first taken to a hospital in Loni and later shifted to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in critical condition, where he is still undergoing treatment.
An FIR was registered based on a complaint filed by his son, Usman, naming seven people in connection with the attack. Police said the attackers stabbed Saleem multiple times, leaving him seriously injured.
Officials also said the two brothers were linked to extremist views and carried out the attack after being influenced by a Pakistani YouTuber. CCTV footage from the area helped police identify the suspects and announce a reward for their arrest.
Ghaziabad Police Commissioner J Ravindra Gaur said the police teams had been tracking Gulfam for several days before locating him. With both brothers now dead, police are continuing the investigation to find others involved in the attack and the larger conspiracy behind it.
