BAREILLY: Two senior officials of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) were shot dead by an armed man who barged into the company’s plant in UP’s Budaun district on Thursday afternoon. The accused, Ajay Singh, a vendor, was allegedly sacked two months ago.According to police, plant manager Sudhir Gupta, and deputy manager Harshit Mishra, died in the incident which took place in the district’s Senjani village in Musajhag area.The assailant entered the premises and opened fire at the two officials at close range, a cop privy to details said, adding that both sustained multiple gunshot wounds, and they died on the spot. The accused fled after the attack.SP Budaun Brijesh Singh said the accused, Ajay Singh, had a prior dispute with the officials. “He had been working as a vendor at the plant but had been blacklisted, which might have fuelled his resentment.”“Around two months ago, the deputy manager had lodged a case against him. Since then, he had allegedly been issuing threats,” the officer said.The bodies were sent for postmortem and a forensic team was called in. A massive manhunt has been launched to nab the accused, and security has been tightened in and around the plant, police said.