Salim Pistol’s arrest deals major blow to gangster-terror nexus in India

New Delhi, Aug 13 The arrest of notorious arms supplier Salim Pistol is a major shot in the arm for the Indian security agencies. Pistol, who was in Nepal, was arrested and brought to New Delhi in a joint operation by the Delhi Police Special Cell, Indian Intelligence agencies, and Nepal police.

The arrest of Salim Pistol, originally known as Sheikh Salim, will deal a major blow to the various gangster networks in the country. He was one of the key suppliers of arms to various gangster networks in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Punjab, just to name a few.

The arrest is very crucial, especially in the backdrop of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) probing a massive gangster-terror network that is threatening internal security to a large extent.

Pistol enjoyed the backing of the ISI and worked on the instructions of Dawood Ibrahim, a dossier on him states. He would pick up the arms from Pakistan and then smuggle them into India before they made their way to various gangster networks.

Investigations had found that he was one of the biggest suppliers of arms to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. His other big client was Hashim Baba, a big-time gangster from Northeast Delhi. The police and the Intelligence agencies would interrogate Salim thoroughly to get leads on several cases.

He is said to be a mentor to the killers of Punjabi rapper Sidhu Moosewala. His name had also cropped up in the murder of Maharashtra politician Baba Siddiqui. However, the most important leads he would be able to provide are into the gangster-terror nexus case that the NIA has been probing.

This nexus has its bosses in Pakistan and Canada. Together, they direct gangsters to carry out targeted killings and even terror attacks. This is where Salim Pistol would come in and provide the required arms to these gangsters.

During the investigations into these cases, the security agencies found that the gangsters were using sophisticated weapons. It was Salim who had supplied them with the Zigana, a Turkish-made pistol. These pistols were smuggled into India from Pakistan by Salim and his men.

Salim had also used drones to deliver these pistols into India. Once they were smuggled in from Pakistan, they would be dismantled and hidden in the compartments of vehicles. Once smuggled, the gangsters would reassemble them. These pistols sell at Rs 4 to Rs 6 lakh in India and are often smuggled across the Nepal border or dropped off in Punjab by drones.

The Punjab police too is investigating a case of a trans-border smuggling network of sophisticated arms operated by the ISI. The police had seized two Glock 9 pistols with four magazines and 100 rounds of ammunition. The Punjab police said that the consignment was to be delivered to Nav Pandora, an associate of Jaggu Bhagwanpuria.

The Intelligence agencies say that all these gangs, including the one run by Salim Pistol, are all linked. Salim is a major operative and was coordinating between all these gangs to ensure that the arms were delivered.

The arms supplied by Salim were used for gang wars, targeted killings, and acts of terror, the probe also shows.

Further, the gangster-terror nexus case is also directly connected to the Khalistan movement, as it is these elements who run this from Canada and Pakistan. Salim’s questioning will also provide more details on his clientele in India and beyond.

Salim originally hails from Jafrabad in Delhi. He left school after Class 8 and began working as a driver. In 2020, he, along with his associate Mukesh, was involved in a car theft. He was arrested and then released on bail. Following that, he was involved in more petty crimes before getting into the arms supplies business.

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