Shamli: For a group of five men sitting inside a house in western Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli, the 26 August murder of their “bhai”—Haryanvi singer and YouTuber Ankit Baliyan—is the latest reminder of the deadly intersection of music and gangland violence in the region.
Ankit, 32, was shot dead around 7 PM last Wednesday outside his gym in Shamli, barely 200 metres from the local police station. Four men on two motorcycles opened fire as he walked towards his car, firing nearly 18 rounds before fleeing.
Within hours, an Instagram account claiming to represent the Gogi gang took responsibility, alleging Baliyan had made a song about the 2021 courtroom murder of gang leader Jitender Mann alias Gogi.
For the five men in Shamli, this was a rude reminder of the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, who was shot dead in broad daylight in Punjab’s Mansa district on 29 May 2022. “Wasn’t this how Moosewala was killed,” asks one.
Like Ankit Baliyan, Moosewala had built a massive following through music and social media, with songs that often drew on themes of guns, power and rural identity. His murder was allegedly orchestrated by gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his then associate Goldy Brar.
Four years apart, the killings share a striking similarity: two popular regional singers, with massive social-media following, becoming victims of gang violence.
A former kabaddi player who transitioned into Haryana’s modeling scene, Ankit was building a career as a Haryanvi singer, actor, and YouTuber entirely on his own, without industry backing or connections.
UP Police have now formed multiple special teams to track down his killers.
But Ankit’s family is struggling with a question: why was their son a target?
Like Moosewala, whose music frequently leaned into themes of gun culture, street rap, village roots, and cultural pride, Ankit also built his brand around hard-hitting lyrics and the “tough guy” projection, showing power, muscle, and encounters with the law.
18 rounds fired outside Shamli gym
Ankit followed a six-meal-a-day fitness regimen. For the Baliyan household, last Wednesday started like any other, but did not end like one. Ankit had lunch with his family. His mother left for a neighbour’s funeral.
By 4:30 PM, he was at his regular gym in Shamli’s Aryapuri area, on the phone with his wife Seema. “We were going through plans for an upcoming musical project with popular artist Amit Saini,” Seema tells ThePrint.
Around 7 PM, Ankit was done with his workout. Ravikant Sharma, the owner of the three-year-old gym and a good friend of Ankit, said the YouTuber completed his cardio and other exercises before he left. Ankit stepped out of the gym, located in a narrow lane in the market, and approached his car.
“We were inside the gym and heard a loud noise,” says Sharma. “At first, we assumed it was the Bullet motorcycle. But as we rushed there, we saw Ankit lying in a pool of blood. There was complete chaos. Four men on two motorbikes came and shot him.”
The men on two motorcycles—that had no license plates, according to police sources—had been conducting recces for over two hours, waiting for Ankit to leave.
Some bullets struck Ankit in the head and abdomen. He fell on the pavement. Police immediately reached the scene and took him to a hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. Within seconds of the attack, the four assailants sped away. Police sources suspect they fled towards Haryana.
The shooting happened barely 200 metres from the Kotwali police station where a First Information Report (FIR) has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
“Our 8 teams are working in Haryana, and teams are also deployed in other districts of Uttar Pradesh. We hope to crack this case very soon and apprehend the culprits. Teams are working to identify the accused. Police have recovered some rounds and casings from the spot itself, and forensic experts are working on it,” says a police official posted in Shamli.
Gogi gang claim: ‘Just the beginning’
Ankit used to live in Rohtak and Sonepat, Haryana, before he moved to Delhi’s Khajuri Khas, where he used to make music. “We suspect that (somebody linked to Sonepat) might have a connection to his murder, and so we are in touch with the Sonepat Police to identify any suspects or motive,” the police official adds.
An outfit that calls itself the ‘Gogi Group’ has taken responsibility for the killing. In a purported Instagram post, complete with a lions-and-guns crest, it declared: “Ankit Baliyan was murdered in Shamli today. I, Bholu Sahapuriya (Sonepat), take full responsibility for this.”
Tagging other handles named “Gogi_Bhai”, “Fazze_Bhai”, and “Gogi_Group”, the post in Hindi read, “He (Baliyan) used to support our enemies; he had composed a song on the incident that happened with our Gogi Bhai, and he used to support our enemies in criminal activities. He got the punishment for this, and whoever supports our enemies will face the same fate; this is just the beginning, everyone’s turn will come. Wait and watch.”
A senior police officer tells ThePrint that they are looking into the post. “Work has commenced on analysing technical footage and pursuing other investigative leads. A team has been sent to Haryana to work on the case, while another larger team is operating in other areas.”
Back in the Baliyan household, life came to a near-standstill at 7:30 PM Wednesday, when news about the incident reached Seema. “We couldn’t believe it,” she tells ThePrint, describing the endless hours spent at Verma Market, where the family kept the body on the main street, demanding swift police action. “He (Ankit) had no personal rivalries, no enmities. He was just living a normal life. He had dreams to achieve,” says Seema.
The Ankit Baliyan story: Kabaddi, fashion & music
Seema was Ankit’s strongest supporter throughout his journey. Long before Ankit became a household name across western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, featuring in regional music videos, Ankit was just another young boy, playing kabaddi.
He was tall, well-built and spent most of his time at local gyms and sports akharas, preparing as a kabaddi player, and dreaming of representing the country at the national level or joining the Army, just like everyone in the village.
But when he was around 16, a severe knee injury and ligament tear abruptly cut his sports career short, according to his mother Amresh.
“He did not want to stay at home. He opened an electronics shop in his village; he became a sole provider for our family a few years ago,” she adds.
It was during this time that Ankit was drawn towards heavy gym workouts, body-building, and weightlifting. In 2020, Ankit and Seema got married.
“He wouldn’t touch sweets, even though he used to eat a kilo of rasgullas at a time when he was younger,” Seema tells ThePrint, talking about the fitness and dietary disciplines Ankit followed. “He told me he had dreams, and so did I. I am working as a government school teacher in Delhi. He wanted me to prepare for civil services. We both started making frequent trips across Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, looking for openings in modelling.”
Ankit had no family connections or industry contacts. He relied on self-promotion and social media. From modeling, he stepped into the Haryanvi music video scene in 2023, collaborating with regional writers. His room at the family home is a reminder of Ankit’s flamboyance—a massive pink bed, with cushions attached to it, all his wardrobes filled with high-end unopened shoe boxes and designer clothes for upcoming video shoots.
“Nobody supports an independent artiste in the Haryanvi industry; there is immense internal politics,” says Seema. She adds, “Both of us financed everything ourselves through our savings and personal loans. We have spent up to Rs 15 lakh on a single track to pay for production, female actors, and singers.”
Ankit’s hard work paid off. Songs like ‘Goli Ke Barood’, ‘Jaat Jatni’ and ‘Savidhan’ managed to garner lakhs of views. They made him popular. Ankit had more than 4.38 lakh followers on Instagram and 3.67 lakh on YouTube. He would frequently release songs centered on gym and gun culture. His song ‘Bhari Court Mein Goli Maarenge’ became an instant hit. Ankit’s other hit songs include ‘Body Builder’, ‘Magazine’, and ‘Ek Khtola Jail Ke Bhitar’.
Guns, women, and cars were a staple. Other music vidoes were centred around alcohol and gangsters.
“Pagal tha woh, jo karta dil jaan laga deta. (He was a maverick. He would put his heart and soul into whatever he did,” says Vicky, Ankit’s younger brother.
But, Ankit had plans beyond recording studios and gyms.
Over the past eight months, after returning to Bantikhera, his native village in Shamli, he began laying the groundwork for a formal entry into local politics.
Amresh said Ankit had planned to contest the upcoming Zila Panchayat elections in Shamli. “He was ambitious about sports and bringing some ground-level changes. He wanted students to have good sports facilities, and wanted to build a stadium. He wanted better facilities for them.”
“In this sugarcane belt, most young boys either become a farmer, or join the police, or the army,” says Shayan Khan, son of local MLA Ashraf Ali Khan. “Ankit took a road less travelled, and created a unique space for himself. He became an inspiration for rural young children who wanted to break into creative fields like digital media, acting, and music.”
Music video at the heart of the murder
At the heart of Ankit’s killing lies a highly-watched Haryanvi music video: ‘Bhari Court Mein Goli Marenge’ (will shoot inside a packed court). Ankit features in it alongside a female lead portrayed as a lawyer. The music video enacts a dramatically high-profile courtroom assassination. Shot inside a jail, the video shows police officers escorting a criminal in handcuffs. He is then shot dead by assailants on the court premises.
For most viewers, the music video could be mere entertainment. But for a Delhi-based crime syndicate, it was not.
In September 2021, gangster Jitender Mann alias Gogi was killed inside room number 207 of Delhi’s Rohini District Court, when two men from the rival Tillu gang, dressed as lawyers, pulled out weapons inside the packed courtroom and pumped four bullets into Gogi in front of 22 police personnel before being killed in retaliatory fire.
Gogi’s name dominated violent crime headlines for nearly a decade. Known for his ruthlessness, firing rapid rounds from imported pistols like Zigana, Taurus, and Sig Sauer until his targets were completely motionless, Gogi rose to infamy in 2010 out of Delhi University’s student politics at Swami Shraddhanand College.
What began as a local rivalry with gangster Sunil Tajpuria alias Tillu eventually escalated into a decade-long gang war spanning Delhi and Haryana.
Over the years, Gogi was booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and implicated in more than 30 criminal cases, including extortion, land grabbing and high-profile murders.
In 2017, the Gogi gang shot dead Haryana folk singer Harshita Dahiya in Panipat after allying with her estranged brother-in-law.
In May 2023, Tillu Tajpuriya, an accused in the Rohini court shoot-out, was killed in an attack by four inmates said to be from the rival Gogi gang inside the high-risk ward of Tihar jail.
The attackers used an improvised weapon that was made by cutting open an iron grille installed on the first floor of the ward.
The blame ‘game’
Preliminary investigation into Ankit’s murder suggests that the Gogi gang claimed responsibility as part of a calculated attempt to expand its footprint into Uttar Pradesh from its traditional Delhi-Haryana stronghold. According to one UP Police source, the primary intent appears to be “asserting dominance and laying the groundwork for an extortion network targeting local artists and businessmen, a theory investigators find far more plausible than the song controversy alone explaining the murder’s timing”.
However, Shamli Superintendent of Police N.P. Singh maintained that police are still verifying the authenticity of the viral post. “We have not yet found any evidence to suggest he received extortion calls or threats, nor have family members indicated this. His phone has been sent for forensic analysis,” says Singh.
A senior Delhi Police officer explains it thus: “While the leaders Gogi and Tillu are dead, rivalries persist as senior figures exploit impressionable local youth.”
According to him, rather than operating on the frontlines, “main gang handlers now outsource hits to young recruits while using social media claims to dominate regional territory”. He adds that, unlike the Lawrence Bishnoi gang or Shahzad Bhatti gang, Gogi gang doesn’t have an international presence yet. Ankit’s murder in broad daylight may well have been an attempt to expand the profile of the criminal syndicate.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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