Two suspected shooters in the Haryanvi singer and actor Ankit Baliyan murder case were shot dead in an alleged encounter with state police and the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (UP STF) in Shamli, news agency ANI reported.
Baliyan, 32, was fatally shot in Shamli district on Wednesday evening as he stepped out of a gym. After his death, a viral social media post allegedly linked to the Gogi gang claimed responsibility for the murder.
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Deep Dive
What were the circumstances leading up to Ankit Baliyan's murder?
Why were two suspects in Baliyan's murder killed by police?
How is the police investigating the suspects connected to Ankit Baliyan's murder?
According to the police, four unidentified individuals arrived in two vehicles and opened fire at Baliyan when he stepped out of the gym around 6.55 pm. He sustained gunshot injuries and while he was rushed to the Community Health Centre (CHC), the doctors were unable to save him.
Two suspects in Ankit Baliyan's murder killed
{{/usCountry}}According to the police, four unidentified individuals arrived in two vehicles and opened fire at Baliyan when he stepped out of the gym around 6.55 pm. He sustained gunshot injuries and while he was rushed to the Community Health Centre (CHC), the doctors were unable to save him.
Two suspects in Ankit Baliyan's murder killed
{{/usCountry}}According to the police, there were a total of four suspected shooters in Baliyan's murder. Of these, two suspects, identified as Sumit and Mohit, were killed today and sophisticated weapons were recovered from them.
"Analysis of CCTV footage and inquiries with locals revealed that four shooters were involved in the incident; they fled on two motorcycles. They were continuously pursued," said ADG Law and Order (Uttar Pradesh) Amitabh Yash.
The police is investigating the role of other shooters and senior members of the gang, he said while assuring justice.
What led to encounter of suspected shooters
Narrating the sequence of events that led to the encounter, Shamli SP Narendra Pratap Singh on Monday said the suspects were spotted after police implemented a blockade plan from midnight to 6 am to ensure vehicles could not enter the district without being checked.
The police said they spotted two men on a motorcycle around 4 am and tried to stop them, but the alleged criminals opened fire on them. One of the bullets hit a police vehicle. "The SHO of Kotwali was conducting checks near a bridge when the miscreants arrived there. He tried to stop them, but they opened fire, shattering his vehicle's windshield, and turned towards the city," news agency ANI quoted SP Singh as saying.
"He immediately challenged them. The suspects turned left towards the city; however, since an alert had already been broadcast over the wireless, our SWAT team, surveillance in-charge, SHOs, CO City, ASP, and CO Kairana all arrived at the scene. Subsequently, the suspects suddenly swerved their vehicle to the right, towards this area," he said.
As police units closed in from the opposite direction, the suspects turned into a dead-end alley, where they allegedly took cover and fired at the police. In the exchange of fire, two constables sustained critical injuries and were initially taken to CHC Shamli before being referred to a higher medical facility. Both suspects were also critically wounded in retaliatory firing and were taken to the CHC, where they later died while undergoing treatment.
(With ANI inputs)