ISLAMABAD: Haryanvi singer and YouTuber Ankit Baliyan was shot dead Wednesday evening outside a gym in Shamli, northern India, prompting protests and a police investigation into a possible gang-related motive, according to Indian media.
Baliyan, who was in his 30s, was leaving a gym in the Kotwali area of Shamli, in Uttar Pradesh state, when four armed assailants on two motorcycles opened fire, according to Indian media reports citing police.
He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to a nearby community health center, where doctors declared him dead.
Police have formed several teams to identify and arrest the attackers. Investigators are examining CCTV footage from the gym and surrounding areas and are also pursuing leads in neighboring Haryana, where Baliyan had lived and worked, according to The Times of India.
A social media post by a man identifying himself as Bholu Shahpuriya and claiming links to the Gogi gang alleged that the gang was responsible for Baliyan's killing. The post accused the singer of supporting the gang's rivals and making a song about the killing of gangster Jitender Maan, also known as Gogi.
Police have not confirmed the authenticity of the post or established that gang rivalry was the motive.
“The theory of a fallout of the gang war is strong,” Meerut Zone Additional Director General of Police Bhanu Bhaskar told The Times of India. “As far as involvement of a song and the related gang war, we do not have any evidence to establish the same yet.”
The Gogi gang is named after Jitender Maan, who was killed by members of a rival gang inside a Delhi courtroom in 2021. Indian authorities have linked the organization to crimes including murder and extortion.
'Murder on the road'
Baliyan was from Bantikhera village in Shamli district and had built a substantial following in the Haryanvi music industry. He lived and worked in cities including Rohtak and Sonipat in Haryana while pursuing his music career.
His YouTube channel had more than 367,000 subscribers, while his Instagram account had a large following. His music frequently featured themes of rural pride, power, rivalry and bravado, with firearms and violence appearing in some of his songs and videos. Hours before his death, Baliyan also posted a video on Instagram in which he sang a line that translates roughly as “murder on the road,” The Times of India reported. Police were examining his social media activity as part of the investigation.
Baliyan had also appeared on podcasts with prominent regional figures, including farmer leader Rakesh Tikait. His family said he was preparing to contest an upcoming district panchayat election and had been working on new music.
'Protest will continue'
The shooting sparked protests in Shamli, with family members and supporters blocking the Delhi-Muzaffarnagar road and demanding the immediate arrest of the killers.
Baliyan's father, Satbir Singh, told Indian media that his son had no known dispute that would explain the attack.
“I want the man who killed him. I don't want anything else. The protest will continue,” Singh said, according to The Times of India.
Police had not announced arrests, and investigators said they were examining all possible motives.