Ethanol plant GM, junior shot dead in UP's Budaun; blacklisted vendor suspect
Budaun (UP) (PTI): Two officials of an ethanol plant were shot dead on Thursday, allegedly by a blacklisted vendor, officials said.
The killings took place at a plant of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) in Sejni village under the Musajhag Police Station area, they said.
Plant's general manager, Sudhir Kumar Gupta, and assistant general manager, Harshit Mishra, were shot dead in the attack.
District Magistrate Avnish Rai said the alleged shooter, Ajay Pratap Singh alias Ramu, a local, was once a vendor at the plant.
Sources said 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 several times, they said.
He once attacked Gupta's car, 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 fired at him also. Both died on the spot, officials said.
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Distillery producing premium craft rum shuts down as LPG runs dry
Bengaluru (PTI): A craft rum distillery near Mysuru has temporarily shut its operations after failing to procure gas for its boilers, amid the ongoing LPG supply disruption triggered by the widening West Asia conflict, the unit's founder said.
Aruna Urs, founder of the distillery that produces Huli Spirits -- touted as India's first premium craft rum made from jaggery --announced the development on Thursday through his social media handle on X.
"Huli is closed from Monday as we are unable to procure LPG for our boiler. We had a public and a private supplier, and both managers categorically stated that the order from above is to only refill domestic canisters..." he added.
The premium, single-origin jaggery-based rum is produced at a micro-distillery located in Nanjangud taluk of Mysuru district.
Urs, however, did not mention how long the shutdown would continue.
Boilers are an essential component in the distillation process, and LPG is a critical component for the production.
Several small manufacturing units have been affected by the ongoing disruption caused by a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders in the market.
As a result, many restaurants, hotels and catering services have either shut their kitchens or are operating under strain using the limited stocks available.
