Bareilly (UP), Mar 28 (PTI) The son of a petrol pump owner and his three associates have been arrested for allegedly illegally entering a Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) depot in Aonla in Bareilly district and threatening its official after he refused their demand for more fuel supply, police said on Saturday.
The arrested, identified as Asif Ahmed, son of Gaffar Ahmed who is the proprietor of Taj Filling Station on Joya Road in Sambhal district, Salman (25) alias Kallu (from Asmoli in Sambhal) and two locals, Shahrukh alias Kallu (24) and Shahjan (19), were sent to judicial custody on Saturday.
Senior officials directed stepping up security after visiting the site of the incident, which came close on the heels of the killing of the general manager and assistant general manager of the HPCL plant in Badaun by a former vendor.
Circle Officer (Aonla) Nitin Kumar said that Swapan Kumar Manjhi, the manager of the BPCL depot, had lodged a complaint with the local police alleging that Asif had threatened one of his officials on March 26.
During interrogation, the accused told the police that on the night of March 26, they had illegally entered the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) Aonla Depot. They stated that they demanded diesel and petrol from the manager. When he refused to provide them, they issued threats, the police said.
A case was registered against the accused under BNS sections 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 329 (criminal trespass and house-trespass), 221 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and 308(5) (extortion) based on his written complaint submitted on March 27, the CO said.
On Saturday, ADM Poornima Singh and SP (North) Mukesh Singh visited the depot premises to inspect the security arrangements at the local BPCL facility.
They sought details regarding the incident from the depot management and questioned how, despite the presence of stringent security measures at the entrance, unwanted elements managed to gain entry.
They issued directives to further tighten security protocols and instructed that any suspicious activity be reported to the administration immediately.
SDM Vidushi Singh and CO Nitin Kumar were also present on the occasion.
The police are currently investigating all aspects of the case, officials said.
On March 12, two officials of the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) plant in Sejni village — Assistant General Manager Harshit Mishra (34) and General Manager Sudhir Kumar Gupta (58) — were shot dead allegedly by Ajay Pratap Singh alias Ramu, a local who was earlier a vendor at the plant. PTI COR NAV RT RT
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