LUCKNOW: Hours before he was shot dead outside a gym in Shamli, Haryanvi singer and YouTuber Ankit Baliyan posted a video of himself singing a line “Murder maar de sadak ke upar (murder on the road)” to his Instagram followers — an eerie coincidence that has now drawn attention as police investigate the circumstances surrounding his killing.Baliyan was leaving a gym in the Kotwali area of Shamli around 6.45pm on Wednesday when four assailants travelling on two motorcycles opened fire on him, police said.He suffered critical injuries and was later declared dead at a community health centre, news agency PTI reported.Around two hours before the shooting, Baliyan had uploaded a video on Instagram in which he was sitting in his car and singing a few lines from his Haryanvi song “Baby Badmash”, released last month.One of the lines he sang was, “Murder maar de sadak ke upar (murder on the road)”.Police are now examining the activity and timeline of Baliyan’s social media accounts as part of the investigation.A resident of Banti Kheda village in Shamli, Baliyan had built a following in the Haryanvi music industry.His YouTube channel had more than 3.68 lakh subscribers, while his Instagram account had about 5 lakh followers.His songs frequently featured guns, fights and SUVs, with lyrics centred on themes of violence, rivalry and defiance.Among his popular tracks were “Bhari Court Mein Goli Marenge”, “Body Builder”, “PTI” and “Ek Khtola Jail Ke Bhitar”.From kabaddi to Haryanvi musicMusic was not initially Baliyan’s career plan. His brother Kapil said he had played state-level kabaddi until 2013-14 and took part in competitions in Delhi, Bhopal and other places.He quit the sport after suffering a leg fracture and later took up gym training.Around 2022, Baliyan began pursuing Haryanvi music professionally. He eventually worked on more than 50 songs as a singer, lyricist and music composer.He remained active through music videos and social media, with his Instagram account carrying the tagline “Yudhay Krit Nishchaya”, meaning determined to fight.Over 20 songs lined up for releaseBaliyan was working on more than 20 new Haryanvi songs that were scheduled to be released next month, according to his family.His family also said he was preparing to contest the district panchayat member election from his village and planned to try his luck in Bollywood.He had married Delhi’s Khajuri Khas-based teacher Jyoti around four years ago and also lived with her there. His father Satvir Singh is a retired Army personnel and is currently engaged in farming in the village.Baliyan is survived by two elder sisters and a younger brother.For his music work, he lived between Rohtak, Sonipat and Delhi’s Khajuri Khas and had offices at all three places. Locals said he usually visited his native village once every one or two months.Family demands immediate arrestsThe killing triggered protests in Shamli, with Baliyan’s family and others blocking a road and demanding the immediate arrest of those responsible.The blockade has since been cleared, Bhaskar said, adding that the family was cooperating with the investigation.Baliyan’s last rites were performed at his native village Banti Kheda after the post-mortem on Thursday.The killing has also drawn criticism from the Samajwadi Party and Congress, which have targeted the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government over the law and order situation.(With agency inputs)
