In a joint operation, Delhi Police Special Cell, Indian Security Agencies (ISA), and Nepal Police arrested notorious and most wanted arms supplier Sheikh Salim, also known as Salim Pistol, in Nepal on Saturday.

Salim, last arrested in 2018 but having escaped, has been illegally supplying weapons from Pakistan to India for over a decade. Linked to Dawood Ibrahim’s D-company and gangsters like Lawrence Bishnoi and Hashim Baba, his name has surfaced in several murder cases, including that of Sidhu Moosewala.

According to intelligence inputs, Salim was hiding in Nepal. Acting on a tip-off, agencies nabbed him. A resident of Seelampur, Delhi, Salim has been implicated in many cases, including the recent Baba Siddiqui case. Dropping out after Class 8, he once worked as a driver before turning to crime, starting with vehicle theft in 2000 (booked under IPC 379, 411, 34) and later armed robbery in Jafrabad.

Zigana Pistol Network

Police revealed Salim’s deep involvement in smuggling Turkish-made Zigana pistols, highly sought after by Indian gangsters. He collaborated with two siblings from Khurja, Bulandshahr, who helped smuggle these weapons from Pakistan into India. The parts were dismantled, hidden in separate vehicle compartments, and later reassembled. A Zigana pistol smuggled via Nepal sells for around ₹6 lakh in India, while those flown in via drones from Pakistan fetch around ₹4 lakh.