Police have detained four suspects in connection with the murder of Haryanvi singer and YouTuber Ankit Balyan and are reconstructing the alleged shooters’ movements from Haryana’s Karnal to Shamli through Bidouli, officials familiar with the investigation said on Sunday.
Investigators have examined around 80 CCTV recordings and the entry register of the gym where Balyan had gone before he was shot dead on August 26. A special operations group (SOG) team found that the four suspected shooters allegedly travelled from Karnal towards Shamli via Bidouli before reaching the area around the gym.
Police are stitching together CCTV footage from Karnal to Bidouli and then Bidouli to Shamli to establish the suspects’ movements before and after the crime. The focus is on identifying the vehicles used, the people travelling in them and their activities along the route.
Police sources said suspicious movements have surfaced at several locations and footage from different cameras is being matched to establish a continuous trail. Investigators hope this will help identify the vehicle used by the attackers and establish their escape route.
The four detained suspects are being questioned, while their call detail records, criminal antecedents and activities on the day of the murder are being examined. Teams from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Punjab are assisting in the investigation.
{{/usCountry}}The four detained suspects are being questioned, while their call detail records, criminal antecedents and activities on the day of the murder are being examined. Teams from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Punjab are assisting in the investigation.
{{/usCountry}}Balyan, 32, was shot dead around 6.42pm on August 26 shortly after he stepped out of a gym in Shamli.
The SOG’s reconstruction suggests the attackers spent nearly two hours moving around the market to familiarise themselves with entry and exit routes before the shooting. After reaching Shamli, they allegedly remained around the gym for nearly an hour, monitoring the area and waiting for Baliyan to emerge.
On Friday, the Saharanpur SOG team returned to Shamli, inspected the crime scene and examined the gym’s entry register. Investigators also questioned several people at the gym and nearby locations before taking CCTV footage for technical analysis.
Senior police officers, including ADG Meerut Zone Bhanu Bhaskar and DIG Saharanpur Abhishek Singh, along with the UP STF and Shamli Police, are supervising the investigation. Raids are being conducted at suspected locations in other districts and states.
With the four suspects in custody, investigators are seeking to establish whether they were directly involved in the shooting, who allegedly facilitated their movement and who may have planned or financed the attack.