The Uttar Pradesh Police has deployed its Special Task Force (STF) to assist in the investigation into the murder of 32-year-old Haryanvi singer and YouTuber Ankit Baliyan , who was gunned down in Shamli on August 26 evening, a senior police officer said on Thursday.
“Immediately following the incident, a social media post surfaced claiming that the Gogi gang was responsible for the attack and identifying an individual named Bholu Shahpuriya as the perpetrator. “The STF is assisting the district police in analysing technical and intelligence inputs…. We hope to solve the case soon,” Yash added. Police teams are analysing CCTV footage, mobile phone data and location records besides examining Baliyan’s contacts, previous disputes and possible threats. Two shooters dressed as lawyers, who had opened fire on him, were also killed in retaliatory police firing.
The gang had a longstanding rivalry with the Tillu gang, dating back to around 2010 and linked to several violent incidents. Gogi was killed inside Delhi’s Rohini court complex in September 2021 during a court appearance.
The authenticity of the social-media post is currently being verified,” Yash said. The senior police officer said gangs often carried out such acts, or claimed responsibility for them, to expand their sphere of influence. “The family has not yet levelled specific allegations against anyone, nor have they named any suspects,” he said, stressing that the police were looking into several possible motives, including personal or professional enmity, an old dispute, contract killing and gang rivalry.
Teams are also scrutinising Baliyan’s social media activity, including a video that he uploaded an hour before the shooting in which he was singing a song containing references to murder .
Baliyan’s postmortem was conducted late Wednesday night under videography and his body was handed over to his family on Thursday morning.
