New Delhi: In a significant development, the Delhi Police has apprehended Sheikh Salim, also known as ‘Salim Pistol’, who is recognized as India’s largest arms supplier, in Nepal, according to officials on Saturday.

Salim was captured by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police during a coordinated operation with security agencies and local authorities after being located in Nepal.

Security agencies reported that Salim, a resident of Seelampuri in Delhi, was engaged in the smuggling of arms from Pakistan into India. He also had connections with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Dawood Ibrahim’s D-Company.

The agencies are currently probing his associations with the ISI and the D-Company.

They suspect that Salim was supplying weapons to criminals such as Lawrence Bishnoi and Hashim Baba. Additionally, he is believed to have mentored one of the individuals implicated in the murder of the well-known singer Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, also known as Sidhu Moosewala. There are also suspicions regarding his involvement in the assassination of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddiqui.

Salim had previously been apprehended by the Delhi Police in 2018, but he managed to evade capture. Since that time, he has been evading law enforcement.

Salim, who left school after the eighth grade due to financial hardships, has five brothers. He married in 1992 and has two children – a son and a daughter.

In April 2000, Salim was implicated in a car theft. Together with his accomplice Mukesh Gupta, also known as Kaka, he stole a vehicle from Chandni Chowk. He was arrested on May 25, 2000, and a case was filed against him under sections 379, 411, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

In 2011, Salim, who had a brief stint as a driver, was also involved in an armed robbery in Jafrabad, Delhi, where Rs 20 lakh was stolen. He was arrested on September 18, 2013, and placed in judicial custody following the filing of a first information report (FIR) against him under sections 395 and 397 of the IPC.