YouTuber Saleem Wastik arrested in connection with 1995 kidnapping and murder case

Ahmed, known to his online followers as Saleem Wastik, was discovered to be a convicted murderer who had been living under a false identity since jumping bail in connection with the 1995 kidnapping and killing of a minor.

A brutal crime and initial conviction

The case originated on January 20, 1995, when 13-year-old Sandeep Bansal, the son of a Delhi businessman, was abducted while heading to school. 

A day later, his family received a ransom call demanding Rs 30,000 for his safe release, along with threats against involving the police, reported India Today.

The boy was subsequently murdered, and his body was recovered from a drain in the Mustafabad area.

A police investigation at the time identified Saleem, a martial arts trainer at the victim’s school, and an associate named Anil as the primary suspects. Both men were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1997.

Decades of deception and digital reinvention

In 2000, Saleem secured interim bail from the Delhi High Court but failed to return, choosing to jump bail.

To permanently mislead authorities, he reportedly faked his own death and moved across multiple locations in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

He eventually settled in Loni, Ghaziabad, where he successfully rebranded himself as "Saleem Wastik," a social activist. Over the years, he gained significant public attention and a digital following through his YouTube channel, effectively hiding in plain sight.

The arrest follows a recent violent incident in which Saleem was stabbed multiple times at his residence by two unidentified assailants. He survived the attack.