New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) Ahead of the festive season, the Delhi Police has seized more than 1,200 kilograms of banned firecrackers in multiple operations conducted across the city and arrested six people in the case, an official said on Monday.
According to the police, separate raids carried out by the Shahdara district led to the seizure of 746 kg of firecrackers, over 124 kgs were recovered in a raid in Ashok Nagar while 394 kg were recovered by the crime branch.
“A total of six persons have been apprehended in connection with the seizures,” the officer said.
The Delhi Police has intensified the enforcement drive against the illegal sale, storage and transportation of banned firecrackers, which pose serious risks to public safety and violate pollution control measures.
In Shahdara, police conducted three separate operations based on inputs between October 1 and 6. In the first operation, a team raided a shop in Geeta Colony, where 23-year-old Akshit Takkar was caught with a large stock of banned firecrackers.
“The shop was originally owned by his father, but Takkar had continued the firecracker trade illegally after the ban. He told the team that he purchased the material from Gurugram at low prices and sold it in Delhi for profit,” he said, adding that an FIR has been registered against the accused.
In the second raid, police recovered around 460 kg of firecrackers from a hall in Farsh Bazar, following a tip-off. The accused, identified as 54-year-old Ram Jeewan Garg, was found storing the material for sale during the festival season. He allegedly procured the stock from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh to sell it in Delhi.
In another operation, a team recovered about 120 kg of firecrackers from a godown in Geeta Colony and arrested Vinod Kumar (54). Police said Kumar was planning to supply the crackers in the local market.
Meanwhile, in a separate operation, the crime branch intercepted a tempo near Bamnoli Chowk on the Dwarka Expressway on October 5.
A senior police officer of the crime branch said that the vehicle was illegally transporting firecrackers from Farukh Nagar in Haryana to Mukundpur in north Delhi. The driver, identified as 32-year-old Arjun Kumar Mandal, a resident of Gandhi Nagar, was apprehended after 231 kg of firecrackers were found in the vehicle.
“Based on Mandal’s disclosure, a follow-up raid was conducted in Mukundpur, leading to the arrest of Himanshu (20). Another 163 kg of firecrackers were recovered from his house, taking the total recovery in the case to 394 kg,” he said.
Investigators said Himanshu had purchased the firecrackers for Rs 1.5 lakh from a supplier in Farukh Nagar and had hired the driver to transport the consignment. PTI BM ANM HIG
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.