A popular Haryanvi song that racked up more than 54 million views on YouTube is at the centre of the investigation into the murder of singer and YouTuber Ankit Baliyan. Police say members of the Jitender Gogi gang believed the track mocked their slain leader and that this perception ultimately led to Baliyan’s killing. Two of the men accused of carrying out the attack were themselves shot dead in a police encounter days later.
The Killing in Shamli
On the evening of 26 August, Ankit Baliyan stepped out of a gym in the Kotwali area of Shamli in Uttar Pradesh. He was near his car when three to four men on two motorcycles opened fire. Multiple rounds were discharged. Baliyan sustained several gunshot wounds, including injuries that proved fatal. He was taken to a nearby health centre, where doctors declared him dead.
The attack took place in full public view, only a short distance from the local police station. CCTV footage later examined by investigators captured the sequence of events. Within hours of the murder, a social media post purporting to represent the Gogi gang claimed responsibility. The post alleged that Baliyan had supported the gang’s rivals and had composed a song about the killing of their leader.
The Song That Drew Attention
Baliyan’s track “Bhari Court Mein Goli Marenge Meri Jaan” became one of his most widely viewed releases. The lyrics describe a shooting inside a packed courtroom and include lines about making even a judge sweat. The narrative closely echoes the real-life murder of gangster Jitender Maan, better known as Gogi, inside Delhi’s Rohini court in September 2021.
Gogi was shot dead by assailants who entered the courtroom disguised as lawyers. The killing was later linked to a rival, Tillu Tajpuriya. Baliyan’s song, released in 2023, contained references that police and investigators say members of the Gogi gang interpreted as a direct reference to that incident and as an act of mockery or support for the opposing side.
Police statements indicate that gang members had objected to the song and had asked Baliyan not to release or continue associating with it. According to investigators, he did not comply. The fact that Baliyan and Tillu Tajpuriya belonged to the same gotra is also said to have heightened suspicions among those who felt the song dishonoured their leader.
Police Findings and the Encounter
Uttar Pradesh Police treated the murder as a planned operation rather than a spontaneous attack. Investigators examined CCTV footage, digital trails, payment records and the movements of suspects. They concluded that the target had been kept under surveillance and that weapons, logistics and escape arrangements had been organised in advance.
Four shooters were believed to have been involved. On 31 August, two of them—identified as Sumit and Mohit, both residents of Sonipat in Haryana—were intercepted by police in Shamli’s industrial area. According to official accounts, the pair opened fire when police attempted to stop them. In the exchange of fire that followed, both men were injured and later declared dead at hospital. Two policemen also sustained injuries. Weapons were recovered from the scene.
Police described the two deceased men as sharpshooters linked to the Gogi gang and stated that they were among those involved in Baliyan’s murder. Efforts continued to locate the remaining suspects.
Background of the Gogi Gang Rivalry
Jitender Gogi’s killing in 2021 was part of a longer cycle of underworld violence. His death inside a courtroom became one of the most high-profile gangland incidents in the Delhi-NCR region. Rivalries involving associated groups continued after his death, including further killings claimed as revenge. Baliyan’s song, with its explicit courtroom shooting imagery, appears to have pulled the singer into this pre-existing conflict in the eyes of those who took offence.
Baliyan himself was known for music that frequently featured themes of power, guns, local identity and bravado—common motifs in a strand of contemporary Haryanvi popular music. Several of his tracks attracted large online audiences. He had also been active in public life and was preparing to contest local elections.
The Wider Questions Raised
The case has drawn attention to the thin line that sometimes exists between popular culture and organised crime in certain regions. Songs that dramatise violence or reference real events can acquire meanings far beyond the artist’s stated intent, especially when they circulate widely online. In this instance, a track that achieved massive viewership is alleged to have become the trigger for a targeted killing.
Investigators continue to piece together the full chain of planning, funding and execution. The social media claim of responsibility, the reconnaissance of the gym, the supply of weapons and the subsequent encounter form the core of the current police narrative. Whether the remaining accused are apprehended and how the courts eventually interpret the evidence will determine the legal outcome.
For many who followed Baliyan’s music, the circumstances of his death carry a grim irony. A song that described a courtroom shooting became linked, in the eyes of his alleged killers, to a real murder that had taken place years earlier. The singer who performed it was then gunned down on a public road. The investigation into why that connection was made, and by whom, remains the central thread of the case.
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