Delhi YouTuber held after 31 years in kidnapping-murder case of minor

New Delhi: In a major breakthrough, the Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested a 54-year-old man in connection with a kidnapping and murder case dating back to 1995. The accused, Salim Khan, was apprehended from Loni in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district after evading arrest for over two decades.

Police said Khan, who had been living under multiple aliases and had recently gained attention as a social activist and YouTuber, was a convict who failed to return after being granted interim bail in 2000. His identity was confirmed through fingerprint analysis and old court records.

The case relates to the abduction of a 13-year-old boy from northeast Delhi in January 1995. According to investigators, the child was kidnapped for a ransom of ₹30,000. Suspicion initially fell on Khan, who was working as a martial arts instructor at the victim’s school at the time.

During interrogation back then, the accused allegedly led police to the boy’s body, which was recovered from a drain in the Mustafabad area. Another accused in the case later surrendered, and key belongings of the victim were recovered during the investigation.

Both men were convicted by a sessions court in 1997 and sentenced to life imprisonment. However, Khan absconded after being granted temporary bail and remained on the run despite his conviction being upheld by the Delhi High Court in 2011.

Officials said the accused managed to evade capture by frequently shifting locations across Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, taking up small jobs and eventually settling in Loni under a new identity. In an attempt to avoid detection, he even declared himself dead in official records.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said that the arrest was made following a targeted operation against long-absconding convicts. “Credible inputs led to verification of his identity, after which a joint team conducted a raid and took him into custody,” he said.

Police added that Khan had been running a garment shop and was active online before his arrest. He has now been sent to jail, bringing closure to a case that remained unresolved for over three decades.