Delhi Police’s Special Cell, in coordination with Indian security agencies and the Nepal Police, has arrested Sheikh Salim, alias “Salim Pistol,” in Nepal after years on the run, multiple Indian media outlets confirmed on Saturday. According to reports from NDTV, the Economic Times, and Rediff, he was tracked and apprehended in a joint operation. Published on August 9, 2025 (Saun 25, 2082 BS), the reports identify Salim as a central figure in supplying sophisticated firearms to some of India’s most notorious criminal networks.

Indian officials have claimed that Salim was involved in smuggling weapons from Pakistan into India and that evidence uncovered during investigations points to links with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the underworld network of “D Company.” These claims, however, remain based on statements from law enforcement sources, with all details not yet independently verified.

India Today reported that Salim had been absconding since 2018, the same year he was once arrested by Delhi Police but later fled abroad while out on bail. Acting on recent intelligence, security agencies coordinated to apprehend him in Nepal. The outlet noted that Salim played a key role in making Turkish-made “Zigana” pistols popular among Indian gangs. These details, too, come from investigators cited in media reports.

Older 2023 reports on Zigana pistols indicate that such firearms have sold illegally in the Indian market for the equivalent of INR 600,000–700,000, though prices and smuggling routes vary by location and time. In this case, police have not officially disclosed market values.

Salim’s name has surfaced in investigations into the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, as well as alleged supplies of weapons to the Lawrence Bishnoi and Hashim Baba gangs. These connections are based on police sources and have not yet been adjudicated in court.

There is no major contradiction among published accounts regarding the date and place of arrest: all state that he was detained in Nepal on August 9, 2025, in a coordinated cross-border operation. However, credit for the direct arrest is worded differently—some reports say “Delhi Police’s Special Cell and Indian security agencies, with support from Nepal Police,” while others refer more generally to “a joint India–Nepal operation.” This version relies on the most recent and credible outlets.

In the wider context, India has in recent years launched multiple investigations into Zigana pistol trafficking. In April 2023, a Zigana F model was used in the killing of Atiq Ahmad and Ashraf in Prayagraj, a case that drew attention to the pistol’s growing popularity in India’s underworld and the risks posed by its smuggling network.

Timeline summary: In 2018, Delhi Police arrested Salim but he absconded after being released on bail. In the intervening years, police sources allege he continued to operate a cross-border network smuggling sophisticated arms from Pakistan into India. On August 9, 2025, he was arrested in Nepal in a joint operation involving Indian and Nepali agencies, according to multiple media reports.

He is now being questioned over his alleged links to ISI and “D Company,” his role in trafficking Zigana pistols and other weapons (including possible air, land, and cross-border smuggling channels), and his connections to high-profile crimes in Delhi–NCR. These details will only be formally confirmed after charge sheets are filed and cross-border legal coordination advances.

This episode of cross-border law enforcement cooperation signals a likely tightening of joint India–Nepal efforts to curb the illegal arms trade. The true impact of Salim’s arrest will become clearer as investigators uncover the remaining nodes of his network, its financing, and the points at which its supply lines can be dismantled.

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Editorial Note: The images used in this news story are for representative purposes only and do not depict the actual events or individuals involved.