Two men suspected of being involved in the killing of Haryanvi singer and YouTuber Ankit Balyan have been shot dead in a police encounter in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district, police said.
The two men, identified as 22-year-old Mohit and 24-year-old Sumit, were both from Sonipat in Haryana and carried a reward of Rs 50,000 each for information leading to their arrest, according to Shamli Police.
The encounter took place on Monday near an Indian Gas warehouse on Kairana Road. Police said the two suspects opened fire when a team attempted to stop them, prompting retaliatory firing. Both men sustained serious gunshot injuries and were taken to the District Joint Hospital in Shamli, where doctors declared them dead during treatment.
The deaths come just days after the killing of Balyan, a popular Haryanvi singer and YouTube performer, whose murder had triggered concern across the regional music industry.
Balyan was shot dead on August 26 outside a gym in Shamli. According to police, the attackers targeted him as he was leaving the gym. The shooting was carried out in public, raising immediate concerns about the organised nature of the attack and the possible involvement of professional shooters.
A post-mortem examination later established the severity of the assault. Balyan suffered five gunshot wounds, including two injuries to the head. The nature and location of the wounds indicated that the attackers had fired at close range, according to details emerging from the investigation.
Police subsequently identified Mohit and Sumit as suspected sharpshooters allegedly linked to the murder. Both were declared wanted and a reward of Rs 50,000 was announced for each.
Their deaths in the encounter are now expected to become an important part of the investigation as officers seek to establish who allegedly planned Balyan’s killing, who supplied the weapons and whether other people were involved.
Police said that the encounter followed information about the movement of the two suspects. Officers reached the area near the Indian Gas warehouse on Kairana Road and attempted to intercept them. According to the police version, the suspects responded by opening fire, after which the police returned fire.
Both men were subsequently found injured. They were taken to the District Joint Hospital for medical treatment but could not be saved.
The police account of the encounter will now be subject to the statutory procedures that normally follow deaths during police firing, while investigators will continue to examine the evidence connecting the two men to Balyan’s murder.
The singer’s killing had attracted considerable attention because of his popularity in the Haryanvi music scene. Like many regional performers, Balyan had built an audience through a combination of music releases, videos and social-media platforms, making his death particularly significant within Haryana’s entertainment community.
The murder also revived concerns over the growing links between organised crime and the regional music industry in north India, where singers, performers and online creators can command large audiences and substantial commercial visibility.
For investigators, however, the immediate priority remains establishing the complete chain behind the August 26 shooting.
The killing outside a gym suggests that the attackers may have known Balyan’s movements or routine. Investigators are expected to examine CCTV recordings from the area, mobile-phone data, communications between the suspects and other individuals, vehicle movements and the source of the weapons allegedly used in the crime.
The recovery of firearms and other material from the encounter site could also provide forensic leads, although the significance of any recovered weapons will depend on ballistic examination and their possible connection with the bullets recovered from Balyan’s body.
The police encounter has removed two alleged shooters from the investigation, but it does not by itself answer the central question surrounding the murder: who ordered Balyan’s killing and why?
Those questions could become more important if investigators find evidence of a wider criminal network behind the attack.
The case also highlights the growing use of wanted-person rewards and specialised police teams in investigations involving organised criminal groups. In this case, the Rs 50,000 reward announced for each suspect reflected the authorities’ effort to locate the alleged shooters after the singer’s death.
For Balyan’s family and followers, however, the encounter does not end the search for answers. The investigation must now move beyond the alleged shooters and establish the larger circumstances of the murder.
Until the evidence is examined in court, the allegations against the two deceased men and any other suspects remain subject to investigation. What is clear is that a high-profile killing in Shamli has quickly developed into a wider criminal investigation, with police now attempting to trace the people and motives behind the attack that ended the life of a young Haryanvi performer.
