Two suspects allegedly involved in the murder of Haryanvi singer and YouTuber Ankit Balyan were killed in an encounter with Shamli Police and the SWAT team, officials said on Monday (August 31, 2026).

The two men, identified as 24-year-old Sumit and 22-year-old Mohit, carried a reward of ₹50,000 each. Both were declared dead at the District Joint Hospital, Shamli, where they had been taken for treatment after sustaining gunshot injuries during the encounter.

In a statement, the Superintendent of Police (SP) office, Shamli, said the two sharpshooters were “injured by gunfire during retaliatory firing carried out by the police in self-defence in a joint operation by Kotwali Shamli Police Station, Jhinjhana Police Station and SWAT Team Shamli”.

The injured accused persons were taken to the District Joint Hospital, Shamli for treatment, where, during treatment, the doctors declared both of them dead, the statement added.

Head Constables Harvinder and Pradeep of the SWAT Team were injured by gunfire during the encounter, the statement said.

Police recovered two pistols along with 10 live and nine spent cartridges of .30 bore, another pistol along with 16 live and six spent cartridges, one Splendor motorcycle, one bag, one mobile phone and cash of ₹5,000 from the site of the incident.

Legal proceedings regarding the incident are underway at Kotwali Shamli Police Station. About 14 cases are registered against Mohit and one case against Sumit in Haryana, the SP office said, adding that information on their other criminal history was being ascertained.

Balyan’s death

Uttar Pradesh’s Special Task Force and other police teams had been working to identify four assailants who allegedly shot dead Balyan in Shamli, after tracing their escape route to Haryana with the help of CCTV footage, officials said on Friday (August 28).

Sources had said CCTV footage from several locations in Shamli, Loni in Ghaziabad, Delhi and Sonipat captured four men fleeing on two motorcycles after the shooting.

Balyan had been promoting his song ‘Baby Badmash’, released last month, singing a few of its lines, including “Murder maar de sadak ke upar (murder on the road)” to his Instagram followers in a video. Hours later, he was shot dead in a manner eerily resembling the setting described in the song.

Balyan was leaving a gym in the Kotwali area of Shamli around 6.45 p.m. on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, when four assailants travelling on two motorcycles opened fire on him. He sustained critical injuries and was declared dead at a community health centre, police had said.