An Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) officer was fatally attacked with a sharp weapon while carrying out inspection at a petrol pump in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district, prompting Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and the IOC on Wednesday to seek swift action from the state authorities.Mahesh Shelke, Manager (Retail Sales), IndianOil, was part of a team carrying out the takeover of an IndianOil retail outlet when he was attacked. The incident recalls the 2005 killing of S Manjunath, a 27-year-old IOC sales officer who was shot dead in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, after inspecting a petrol pump where irregularities had been detected.According to the police, Shelke and members of his team were in the process of sealing a petrol pump in Ambachondi village in Basmat tehsil around 4.30 pm on Tuesday when an argument allegedly broke out with family members of the pump owner and others present at the site.The dispute subsequently turned violent and Shelke was allegedly stabbed seven times with a knife, killing him at the scene, the police said. The exact reason for the dispute was not immediately known. The police have formed a team to trace and arrest the prime accused.Later on Wednesday, four persons, including a woman, were arrested on Wednesday in connection with Shelke’s murder, the police said. The accused are identified as Shravan Wakude, Rahul Dhaije, Umesh Pandvir, and Lata Pandvir, said an official.The police have registered a case on a complaint by a senior IOC official under various BNS Sections for murder, unlawful assembly, rioting, and criminal intimidation. The incident occurred on Tuesday when Shelke and other members were carrying out the takeover of an IndianOil retail outlet.IndianOil described Shelke as a “bright and promising sales officer” whose “commitment and sincerity had earned him the respect of his colleagues”.“The issue (stabbing of Shelke) has been taken up with the senior-most officials of the Maharashtra Government and the police to ensure swift and strict action against those responsible in accordance with law,” Puri said in a post on X.IndianOil Chairman AS Sahney said the company had also taken up the matter with the “highest authorities in Maharashtra”, seeking “swift and stringent action” against those responsible.