Shamli Encounter: Police kill two alleged Gogi gang members wanted in connection with Haryanvi singer Ankit Balyan’s murder outside his gym.
BY PC Bureau
August 31: Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district have killed two alleged members of the Gogi gang in an encounter, days after Haryanvi singer and YouTuber Ankit Balyan was shot dead outside his gym.
The suspects were identified as Sumit, 24, and Mohit, 22, both residents of Sonipat in Haryana. Police said a reward of Rs 50,000 had been announced for information leading to the arrest of each man. Mohit was wanted in around 14 cases registered in Haryana, while Sumit had one criminal case against him.
Balyan was gunned down on August 26 when four men riding two motorcycles opened fire outside his gym. Two other suspects remain at large. CCTV footage that later surfaced on social media showed Balyan walking from the gym towards his car when the attackers approached and opened fire, reportedly discharging at least 16 rounds.
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VIDEO | Shamli, Uttar Pradesh: Two suspects in singer Ankit Baliyan murder case killed in police encounter; weapons recovered.
SP Narendra Pratap Singh says, “You are aware that a major incident took place in Shamli district on the 26th of this month, in which renowned local… pic.twitter.com/HXqJepUVyZ
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 31, 2026
A day after the killing, a person claiming to represent the Gogi gang took responsibility for the murder in a social media post.
The police action came amid mounting pressure on the authorities to arrest those responsible. On Saturday, senior police officers met Balyan’s family after his wife threatened to immolate herself outside the Uttar Pradesh chief minister’s residence if the killers were not arrested within four days.
The incident has also triggered a political confrontation, with the Samajwadi Party and Congress attacking the BJP-led state government over the law-and-order situation.
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Hours before his death, Balyan had posted an Instagram video from his car in which he sang lines from his new track Baby Badmash, including, “Murder maar de sadak ke upar.” The song had been released the previous month.
A resident of Shamli, Balyan had more than 500,000 followers on Instagram and over 300,000 subscribers on YouTube. His popular tracks included Bhari Court Mein Goli Marenge, Body Builder, PTI and Ek Khtola Jail Ke Bhitar. His music frequently revolved around guns, fights, SUVs, rivalry and defiance, with violent imagery featuring prominently in his lyrics.
According to his brother, Balyan had played state-level kabaddi until 2013-14 and competed in Delhi, Bhopal and other places. A leg fracture brought his sporting career to an end. He subsequently took up gym training and entered the Haryanvi music scene around 2022.
He went on to work on more than 50 songs as a singer, lyricist and composer, building a sizeable following on social media before his killing outside the gym.
