2 Suspected Shooters Of Haryanvi Singer Ankit Balyan Killed In UP Encounter

Two suspected shooters who fired multiple rounds at Haryanvi singer-YouTuber Ankit Balyan have been killed in an encounter with the police in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli. The two suspects, identified as 24-year-old Sumit and 22-year-old Mohit, are said to be members of the Gogi gang.

Both were from Haryana's Sonipat and carried a reward of Rs 50,000 each, the police said. There were about 14 cases registered against Mohit in Haryana, while Sumit faced one police case. Balyan was shot dead outside his gym in Shamli by four assailants on two bikes on August 26.

The two other suspects are currently on the run. A video of the attack had later surfaced on social media, showing Balyan coming out of his gym and walking towards his car when the shooters approached him and fired at least 16 rounds.

#BREAKING | Haryanvi Folk Singer Ankit Balyan Shot Dead Outside His Gym In Uttar PradeshNDTV's @AaquilJameel brings you this ground report pic.twitter.com/IbIaX5eSvu A day after the killing, a person claiming to be a member of the Gogi gang had taken responsibility for the murder in a social media post.

On Saturday, senior police officials visited his family after his wife threatened to immolate herself outside the Uttar Pradesh chief minister's residence if police failed to arrest the killers within four days. The killing drew criticism from the Samajwadi Party and Congress, which criticised the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government over the state's law and order situation.

Hours before his murder, Ankit Balyan had sung a few lines of his new song, including "Murder maar de sadak ke upar (murder on the road)" in an Instagram video. In the video, he was seen sitting in his car and singing his 'Baby Badmash' song, which was released last month.

A resident of Shamli, Balyan had over five lakh followers on Instagram and more than three lakh subscribers on his YouTube channel. Some of his popular songs included "Bhari Court Mein Goli Marenge", "Body Builder", "PTI", and "Ek Khtola Jail Ke Bhitar".

Balyan's songs heavily feature guns, fights and SUVs, with lyrics invoking themes of violence, defiance and rivalry. Ankit Balyan's brother told reporters that he played state-level kabaddi until 2013-14 and had participated in competitions in Delhi, Bhopal and other places.