HPCL double murder: Budaun SP transferred, 3 cops suspended

Bareilly: Two days after the killing of two senior officials of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) inside its plant in Budaun, SP Brijesh Kumar Singh has been removed from the post and transferred to the logistics department in Lucknow. Singh is among seven IPS officers transferred by the state govt.HPCL manager Sudheer Gupta (55) and deputy manager Harshit Mishra (35) were shot dead by an armed man inside the facility earlier this week.A 2013-batch promoted officer, Singh has been replaced by 2018-batch IPS officer Ankita Sharma.The administrative action follows the suspension of three policemen — SHO Ajay Kumar, sub-inspector Dharmendra Kumar and a constable — for alleged dereliction of duty.Harshit Mishra's mother Rani Devi accused the police of negligence, claiming her son had repeatedly warned authorities about threats to his life. She said Mishra had informed the district magistrate, SP and the local MLA about the danger, but no action was taken.Police said the accused, Ajay Singh, an outsourced vendor recently blacklisted by HPCL for unsatisfactory work, had been threatening the officials prior to the incident. He was arrested shortly after the shooting.On Friday morning, Singh was taken to a forest area to recover the weapon used in the crime. Police claimed he pulled out a country-made pistol concealed in the bushes and fired at the team. In retaliatory firing, police shot him in both legs and later admitted him to the district hospital.