Double murder at HPCL plant: Victim’s family claims negligence; 3 cops suspended

Bareilly: A day after two senior officials of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) were shot dead by an armed man inside the company's plant in Budaun district, three cops -- SHO Ajay Kumar, sub-inspector Dharmendra Kumar and a constable -- were suspended for "dereliction of duty" after a disciplinary report by Ujhani circle officer Devendra Kumar. Rani Devi, mother of one of the victims, deputy manager of the plant, Harshit Mishra, 35, had alleged police negligence in the matter. She claimed that her son had repeatedly alerted "authorities about threats to his life". According to her, Harshit had informed the DM, SP and the local MLA. "My son told everyone his life was at risk, but nobody paid attention," she alleged.Singh, an outsourced vendor, was recently blacklisted for not doing satisfactory work. Since then, he allegedly threatened the victims -- HPCL manager Sudheer Gupta, 55, and deputy manager Harshit.Singh was arrested by police soon after the shooting. On Fri morning, he was taken to a forest to recover the weapon used in the crime. Cops claimed that while in the forest, he pulled out a country-made pistol from the bushes and fired at the team. "In retaliatory fire, police shot him in both legs and admitted him to the district hospital," SSP (Budaun) Brijesh Kumar Singh told TOI.