LUCKNOW, Aug. 29 -- The investigation into the daylight murder of Haryanvi singer and YouTuber Ankit Baliyan, 32, has entered a crucial phase, with the Uttar Pradesh STF and Shamli Police are focusing on two Haryana-based suspected contract killers and examining their possible links with the four assailants captured on CCTV, senior police officials said on Saturday.

Investigators have scanned CCTV footage, social-media videos and other digital material that surfaced after Baliyan was shot dead outside a gym in Shamli on Wednesday evening. Scrutinising the attackers' movements before and after the shooting helped investigators narrow their focus to two suspects from Haryana. Their identities and criminal antecedents are being verified and...