Police have intensified their hunt for the two remaining suspected shooters in the murder of Haryanvi singer and YouTuber Ankit Balyan, 32. The reward on each absconding accused has been doubled from ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh, senior officials said on Thursday.
According to a senior police official privy to the investigation, the two accused, identified as Satyam and Aryan, both residents of Karnal in Haryana, have remained on the run since Balyan’s killing on August 26.
“On Wednesday, additional director general (ADG), Meerut zone, Bhanu Bhaskar increased the reward for information leading to their (accused’s) arrest to ₹1 lakh each, based on the recommendation of Shamli superintendent of police Narendra Pratap Singh. Earlier, DIG, Saharanpur range, Abhishek Singh had announced a reward of ₹50,000 on their heads,” the official said.
This development comes after police on Monday (August 31) shot dead two suspected shooters, Mohit, 22, and Sumit, 24, allegedly involved in the killing in separate encounters. With those two suspects out of the picture, the investigation and manhunt have increasingly focused on Satyam and Aryan, both in their 20s.
The official said multiple police teams had been raiding the two accused’s suspected hideouts in Delhi, Gujarat and several other states. Teams were also sent to Karnal and raided their residences. However, the suspects had already fled before the police teams reached their homes. Their family members were also not found at the residences, the official said.
Investigators are now collecting details about their relatives, associates and people who had remained in contact with them to trace their movements and establish their possible escape route. The police identified Satyam and Aryan after analysing CCTV footage, mobile-phone locations and other technical evidence collected during the investigation.
Following their identification, police teams stepped up surveillance and raids at locations where the two were suspected to have taken shelter. Investigators are also examining their movements before and after Balyan’s murder to establish the wider conspiracy and identify those who may have provided logistical support to the shooters, officials said.
Balyan was shot dead on August 26 outside a gym in Shamli. The assailants, travelling on motorcycles, allegedly opened multiple rounds of fire before fleeing the spot. The incident prompted Shamli police and UP STF to examine CCTV footage, digital evidence and possible links to organised crime groups.
The police are also probing the suspected involvement of the Gogi gang after a social media claim surfaced following the murder.
