A song about shooting a man in court, watched 54 million times on YouTube, allegedly put Haryanvi singer Ankit Baliyan in the crosshairs of the Jitender Gogi gang — and eventually cost him his life, police said. The 28-year-old had appeared in the song “Bhari Court Mein Goli Marenge Meri Jaan.” Members of the Gogi gang allegedly believed its lyrics mocked their gang leader’s killing inside a Delhi courtroom in 2021 — at the hands of his arch rival Tillu Tajpuriya — and accused Baliyan of releasing the song in collusion with the rival Tillu gang.
Police said the singer had allegedly been threatened by the gang in 2022-23 when he was in Delhi. He told them he had only acted in the video and had no role in writing the lyrics or composing the music, police said. But the gang allegedly continued to suspect him.
Baliyan was shot dead on the evening of August 26 while leaving a gym in Shamli’s Kotwali area. Officers said he had not told his family or approached police about the threats.
““Ankit Baliyan featured in the song ‘Court mein goli’… As Tillu also belonged to the Baliyan gotra, like Ankit, members of the Gogi gang suspected that the song was intended to insult and provoke them,” said Superintendent of Police, Shamli, Narendra Pratap Singh.
Police Response
On Monday, police gunned down two of the four men who allegedly shot Baliyan in an encounter in Shamli. Singh said efforts are on to arrest the other two shooters, those who allegedly provided shelter to the accused, and those suspected of being part of the conspiracy.
According to police, a team was conducting a checking drive in Kotwali in the early hours of August 31 when it spotted two men riding a motorcycle with a Baghpat registration number. When the police signalled them to stop, the men allegedly opened fire and fled. The police team pursued them. When the road came to an end, the suspects abandoned the motorcycle and again opened fire, injuring Head Constables Harvinder and Pradeep in the hand and leg.
