Police near the encounter site
Haryanvi singer Ankit Baliyan Shooters Sumit and Mohit Police near the encounter site Haryanvi singer Ankit Baliyan Shooters Sumit and Mohit Police near the encounter site Shamli : Two sharpshooters allegedly involved in the murder of popular Haryanvi singer, actor and YouTuber Ankit Baliyan, 35, were killed in a police encounter involving a SWAT team in the industrial area of UP’s Shamli Monday morning. SP (Shamli) Narendra Pratap Singh said, “The shooters, Sumit (25) and Mohit (24), both from Haryana’s Sonipat, belonged to the Delhi-NCR-based Gogi gang. Each carried a reward of Rs 50,000. Mohit had 14 criminal cases against him while Sumit had one. The duo carried out a recce in Shamli on Aug 20 and stayed at a hotel, where they were clearly captured on CCTV. He added: “After Ankit’s daylight murder on Aug 26, we got the lead when Bholu Shahpuria, linked to the same gang, claimed responsibility on social media. After firing at least 18 rounds during Ankit’s murder, Mohit and Sumit fled towards Baghpat, according to police. But the duo sped away towards Shamli and were eventually cornered near the industrial area where, according to police, an exchange of nearly 20 rounds of gunfire followed. Police said three pistols, 26 live and 15 spent cartridges, a motorcycle, Rs 5,000 in cash and a mobile phone — purportedly captured on CCTV earlier — were recovered from the place. UP DGP Rajiv Krishna announced a cash reward of Rs 2 lakh for the police team involved in the encounter. Native of Shamli’s Bantikhera village, Ankit was allegedly shot dead by four assailants on the evening of Aug 26 after he stepped out of a gym. Investigators were particularly focusing on Ankit’s popular track which has amassed over 54 million views featuring the lyrics: ‘Bhari court mein goli marenge meri jaan… (We’ll shoot in open court, my dear…)’ and references to accomplices waiting disguised in lawyers’ attire carrying revolvers, closely mirroring the 2021 murder of gangster Jitender Mann alias Gogi inside Delhi’s Rohini court’s room number 207.
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Two members of the SWAT team — head constables Harvinder and Pradeep — suffered bullet injuries and are currently admitted at Shamli district hospital, police said. The encounter comes days after Ankit’s father Satbir Singh, a retired soldier, gave an ultimatum to UP Police to either find his son’s killers or the family would withdraw the FIR and “look after it themselves”. Visiting the encounter site on Monday, Ankit’s father said that the “encounter had delivered half the justice” he sought and restored his faith in the UP CM. After Ankit’s murder, Shahpuriya posted a message “claiming responsibility”. This is just the beginning; everyone’s turn will come,” the post said. Accusing the state govt of “shielding organised crime while projecting toughness through such encounters”, UP Congress chief Ajay Rai added that the law and order had collapsed in the state.
They were identified as two of the four killers. They were intercepted at a police checkpoint in Jhinjhana. Both the accused were critically injured and declared dead at hospital. Police added that they’ve identified the other two shooters, Satyam and Aryan, who remain at large. “Whether it is two or four, all of them should be killed. Only then will justice be complete,” he added. He also made it clear that the operation does not mark the end of the police action, adding that teams remain active to arrest the remaining shooters, harbourers and all others involved in the conspiracy. Four purported killers were later captured in chilling CCTV footage. An FIR was registered at Shamli Kotwali initially against four unidentified men under sections of murder after a complaint by the singer’s father. “Ankit was supporting Gogi gang’s enemies and made a song on the incident involving Gogi bhai. He has got his due. Anyone who supports our enemies will meet the same fate. Monday’s encounter took a political turn with Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad saying that circumstances of the encounter needed scrutiny. Download the TOI App.
Around 4am on Monday, they were travelling on a Baghpat-registered motorcycle, trying to reach Sonipat via Shamli. Dismissing the opposition’s allegations, RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary said, “I had met CM Yogi yesterday and he assured us of justice in this matter. Law and order remains strong only as long as people have faith in them, and today the law has done its work.
