Around 12 rounds were reportedly fired.
Popular Haryanvi singer, actor and YouTuber Ankit Baliyan was shot dead outside a gym in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli.
The shocking killing has sent waves of grief across the Haryanvi entertainment community and among his sizeable and devoted online following.
Baliyan, who was in his early 30s, had built a following of more than 360,000 YouTube subscribers through his music and online content.
According to police, Baliyan had finished his workout and was walking toward his car when the attackers struck at around 7 pm.
He was approximately 20 to 25 metres from the gym when three to four unidentified men opened fire at him before fleeing the scene.
Around 12 rounds were reportedly fired at the singer, leaving him with multiple gunshot injuries that ultimately proved fatal.
Baliyan was rushed to a nearby health centre following the attack, but doctors were unable to save him despite their efforts.
His death has drawn significant attention to his chartbuster track ‘Bhari Court Mein Goli’, which has crossed 54 million views.
The song’s violent refrain has taken on a deeply grim context in the wake of his killing, though police have found no connection between the song and the attack.
Baliyan was a native of Bantikhera village in Shamli and had been living and working in Rohtak and Sonipat in Haryana.
His music was rooted in contemporary Haryanvi pop and frequently featured themes of rural identity, power, guns and bravado.
Beyond ‘Bhari Court Mein Goli’, his catalogue included tracks such as ‘112 NE’, ‘Goli Ke Barood’, ‘Jaat Jatni’, ‘Agla Janam Jaat’ and ‘Savidhan’.
He had also released songs including ‘Modi Barga Rutba’, ‘Ek Khtola Jail Ke Bhitar’, ‘Wait’, ‘System’ and ‘Riflein’ as part of his growing discography.
Baliyan had collaborated with several respected names from the Haryanvi music scene, including Masoom Sharma, Raju Punjabi and Aashu Twinkle.
He had also accumulated more than 460,000 followers on Instagram.
His final Instagram post, uploaded less than 24 hours before his death, has since taken on an eerily chilling significance.
In the Reel, Baliyan sang a verse loosely referencing committing murder on the street and warning those who crossed his path.
He dedicated the lines to his “dear brothers” and urged them to share the video.
Hours after that post, Baliyan himself was shot dead in public.
His family and supporters subsequently gathered to protest in Shamli, demanding that the attackers be urgently identified and arrested.
Police have formed multiple investigative teams and are currently examining CCTV footage from the surrounding area to identify the perpetrators.
Investigators are also working to establish the motive behind the killing and trace the movements of the men involved.
A social media post claiming responsibility for the killing in the name of the Gogi gang has surfaced and is being examined by police.
However, authorities have cautioned that they are still in the process of verifying whether the post is genuine and credible.
No confirmed link between the Gogi gang and Ankit Baliyan’s killing has been established by police as of the time of reporting.
