The production of two undertrial prisoners accused of murdering Haryanvi singer Ankit Balyan before a Shamli court has been deferred to November 16, a Shamli police spokesperson confirmed on Thursday. Deepak alias Teetar and Yogesh alias Tunda, lodged in Tihar Jail, could not be produced before the court on Thursday. The police spokesperson confirmed that their production had been deferred but did not disclose further details.
The two accused had sought special security arrangements, expressing apprehension that they could be subjected to a fake encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Police during transit from Delhi to Shamli. Acting on their application, additional sessions judge Saurabh Partap Singh Laler of Delhi’s Patiala House Courts, in an order dated November 3, directed Tihar Jail authorities to provide them bulletproof jackets and chain cuffs on both hands and feet while taking them to Shamli and bringing them back.
The court also directed the jail superintendent and the deputy commissioner of police (North Avenue) to ensure their safety throughout the journey and during their production before the Shamli court. The order recorded that the request for chain cuffs had come from the accused themselves. Their application had also sought adequate police protection and videography of their court production.
The two men are lodged in Tihar Jail in connection with a Delhi Police Special Cell case and are also accused in the August 26 murder of Balyan, who was shot dead outside a gym in Shamli’s Kotwali area.
{{/usCountry}}The two men are lodged in Tihar Jail in connection with a Delhi Police Special Cell case and are also accused in the August 26 murder of Balyan, who was shot dead outside a gym in Shamli’s Kotwali area.
{{/usCountry}}Investigators suspect the involvement of members of the Jitender Gogi gang in the murder. The alleged motive was Balyan’s song ‘Bhari Court Mein Goli Marenge Meri Jaan’, which gang members reportedly believed mocked Gogi’s killing inside a Delhi courtroom in 2021 by members of the rival Tillu Tajpuriya gang.
Police had also claimed that Balyan was threatened by Gogi gang members in 2022-23 when he was in Delhi. He had reportedly told them that he had only acted in the music video and had no role in writing its lyrics or composing the music.