New Delhi, April 26 -- A man sentenced to life imprisonment for the kidnapping and murder of a 13-year-old boy was arrested on Friday by the Delhi Police crime branch - 26 years after he jumped bail and built a new life as a prominent social media personality with a security detail provided by the Uttar Pradesh police. Salim Khan, 54, had been living openly in Loni, Ghaziabad, under the name "Salim Wastik", running a YouTube channel with over 63,000 subscribers, describing himself as "a former Muslim". He also had around 31,000 Instagram followers. Khan was arrested from his Loni residence in the presence of his PSOs and sent to Tihar jail, said the deputy commissioner of police (crime). Sanjeev Kumar Yadav. On January 20, 1995, a 13-year-old student - son of a cement businessman - was kidnapped after leaving his Northeast Delhi home. The next day, the father received a ransom call for Rs.30,000. A case was registered at Gokulpuri police station on January 21, 1995. Suspicion fell on Khan, a martial arts instructor at a Daryaganj school, after a neighbour said he saw the child leaving with "Masterji". Khan confessed to kidnapping and strangling the boy with co-accused Anil, then dumping the body in a drain, where it was recovered. On August 5, 1997, a Delhi court sentenced both to life imprisonment. Anil was discharged by the Delhi High Court in July 2011 due to insufficient evidence. Khan was granted interim bail for four weeks on November 24, 2000, on grounds of his wife's ill health - he never returned. The HC upheld his life conviction on July 19, 2011. While on the run, Khan moved across Haryana and UP before settling in Loni around 2010, assuming a new identity, opening a ladies' garments shop, and launching his YouTube channel. "He virtually had himself declared dead," Yadav said, as his family convinced villagers he was dead. On February 27 this year, Khan was stabbed at his office; two alleged attackers were killed by UP Police in encounters. Khan was discharged from hospital on March 25 and given four PSOs by UP Police. The breakthrough came about a month ago when the crime branch's anti-robbery snatching cell, re-examining cold cases, found his school identity card, fingerprint sample and an old photograph. After a week of fieldwork in Shamli, where even family members claimed he was dead, one elderly villager broke ranks. "But one old man secretly informed us that the Salim Khan we were looking for was the famous YouTuber Salim Wastik living in Loni," Tyagi said. "Khan initially claimed to be innocent but acknowledged his identity when confronted with the evidence," he added....