He Killed A Kid, Changed Name, Became YouTuber: How 'Ex-Muslim' Saleem Wastik Evaded Police For 20 Years

New Delhi: Famous YouTuber and TV panelist Saleem Wastik has been arrested by the Delhi Police for kidnapping and murdering a businessman's son 31 years ago in 1995. Notably, Saleem evaded police for more than two decades, all while maintaining a prominent public profile defined by his controversial views.

Here is how Salim Wastik managed to evade police for 26 years:

The 1995 Murder

On January 20, 1995, the 13-year-old son of a cement businessman went missing after leaving home for school in North East Delhi. A day later, the businessman received a ransom call demanding Rs 30,000 for releasing his son, Sandeep Bansal.

The kidnapper told the father that if police was informed, his child would be killed.

The child's family informed the police and during investigation it was found that the kid was kidnapped by Saleem Khan, who was a marital arts instructor at Ramjas School, Daryaganj.

The police soon nabbed him, following which he confessed to the crime and led the police to the dead body of the child.

Saleem Khan (now Saleem Wastik) and a man named Anil had orchestrated the whole kidnapping and murder plan.

Court Hearing & Subsequent Bail

Saleem Khan and Anil were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Karkardooma Court in August 1997. However, Saleem appealed the court's decision in the Delhi High Court, which granted him bail in 2000.

Saleem Declares Himself Dead

After being granted bail, Saleem went on the run and despite the Delhi High Court upholding his life sentence in 2011, he continued absconding.

He declared himself dead, changed his name to Saleem Wastik and took up odd jobs in Haryana. First he worked as a wardrobe maker in Haryana for 10 years. Then he opened a clothing store in Ghaziabad.

He soon established himself as a YouTuber and self-styled 'social activist,' gaining notoriety for his controversial, often religion-based remarks that kept him in the public eye. On his YouTube channel, he calls himself “an ex-Muslim who spent years understanding and examining Islamic ideology and ultimately decided to follow the path of reason and evidence”.

Saleem Makes Headlines After Being Attacked

Saleem Wastik made headlines in February, 2026, after he was stabbed multiple times by two men at his home in Ghaziabad for allegedly insulting the Prophet.

A CCTV footage of the attacked Saleem watching his mobile phone when two men, wearing helmets, suddenly entered his house and started stabbing him with a knife.

One of the attackers was heard saying, "You are insulting our Prophet, you are insulting our Lord."

Saleem was rushed to the hospital in a critical condition. 

The two attackers, identified as Zeeshan and his brother Gulfam, were killed by police in separate encounters.

Arrest By Delhi Police

The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police finally identified him as the man behind the 1995 kidnapping murder case and arrested him from Loni, Ghaziabad.

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