Budaun (UP), March 12 Two senior officials of an ethanol plant here were shot dead on Thursday, with police arresting a blacklisted vendor in connection with the killings, officials said.
The incident took place at a Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) plant in Sejni village under the Musajhag police station limits, they said.
The deceased have been identified as Sudhir Kumar Gupta (58), a general manager (GM) at the facility, and Harshit Mishra (34), assistant general manager.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Brijesh Kumar Singh said the alleged shooter, Ajay Pratap Singh alias Ramu, a local, who was earlier a vendor at the plant, has been arrested.
Officials said the deceased Gupta had recently terminated some employees and blacklisted vendors whose work was not satisfactory. Singh was among those removed.
Since the termination, Singh had been upset with the general manager and had threatened him on several occasions, they said.
He even attacked Gupta's car once, following which a case was registered against him at Dataganj Kotwali police station.
According to preliminary information, Singh came to the factory around 2 pm on Thursday and managed to cross the security gate before entering a conference room where Gupta was present.
He allegedly opened fire at him, and when Mishra intervened, he too was shot. Both died on the spot, officials said.
HPCL Regional Manager (Bareilly) Devanand said according to the earlier FIR lodged by GM Gupta, the first major incident took place on January 13 when the accused allegedly forced his way into a contractor’s car and entered the HPCL plant premises. He then went straight to the conference room where officials were holding a meeting at the time.
Officials said the January 13 events bore a chilling similarity with Thursday's incident, as the accused had barged into the same conference hall on that day too.
On Thursday, he allegedly burst into the room and began firing indiscriminately, killing the two officials before calmly walking out of the premises. None present at the spot dared to stop or apprehend him, witnesses said.
Earlier, the accused had openly threatened the officials, claiming links with a gang in Noida. To intimidate them, he even showed several knife marks on his body, the official said.
According to the earlier FIR, the accused had also stopped the deceased car as he was leaving the plant, and threatened them.
On January 14, the accused allegedly entered the plant premises again. He walked into the office of the location incharge and began screaming at the officials, issuing various threats.
When the officials stepped out to lodge a complaint, the accused allegedly tried to block their vehicle and chased them for nearly 5 km.
Sources said despite the seriousness of the incidents on January 13 and 14, a case was not registered immediately based on the complaint by plant officials.
According to HPCL officials, the FIR was eventually registered on February 4, reportedly after the intervention of the district magistrate.
Plant sources said initially no officer was willing to come forward to lodge the FIR. Later, Deputy General Manager Sudhir Kumar Gupta himself approached the police station as complainant and got the FIR registered.
Regional Manager Devanand told
"This plant does not come directly under my jurisdiction, but we all work in the same company and the officials had informed me and other seniors about these incident," he said.
He further said Gupta had already applied for voluntary retirement and had also been transferred from the plant.
"March 31 was his last working day; he still had about two years of service left," Devanand said.
Coincidentally, Lokesh Kumar, who had come from Akola in Maharashtra to take charge of the post, was present at the plant on Thursday and witnessed the incident.
After the incident, DIG (Bareilly Range) Ajay Kumar Sahni said an FIR had been registered against the accused at Musajhag police station on February 4 under serious sections.
"What action was taken in that case will be known after the station in-charge, who is currently on leave, returns," he said.
He said preventive action had been taken against the accused earlier on January 24.
Meanwhile, Inspector Ajay Kumar and Sub-Inspector Dharmendra Kumar have been suspended with immediate effect for alleged negligence in the discharge of their duties, officials said.
The action was taken on the basis of a report submitted by Ujhani Circle Officer Dr Devendra Kumar. Following the suspension, an inquiry into the matter has been entrusted to Circle Officer (City) Rajneesh Kumar Upadhyay, police said.