At least 1,100 kilos of crackers seized on the eve of Diwali

In the first major seizure of crackers this year, a joint team of the Delhi Police and the Delhi government on Wednesday seized 879 kilos of firecrackers from a godown in north Delhi’s Sadar Bazar, one of the biggest wholesale markets for crackers in the national capital

At least 1,100 kilograms of firecrackers, which were smuggled into the city from parts of Uttarakhand and Haryana, were seized from across the city, over the past 24 hours, by different teams of the Delhi Police.

The sale, storage and bursting of firecrackers have been banned in the national capital to keep air pollution under check and prevent it from deteriorating further. (HT Archive)

In the first major seizure of crackers this year, a joint team of the Delhi Police and the Delhi government on Wednesday seized 879 kilos of firecrackers from a godown in north Delhi’s Sadar Bazar, one of the biggest wholesale markets for crackers in the national capital. Police also seized an additional 294 kilos from Karkardooma and 32 kilos of crackers from Babarpur in north-east Delhi on Wednesday.

The sale, storage and bursting of firecrackers have been banned in the national capital to keep air pollution under check and prevent it from deteriorating further. A day before Diwali, Delhi’s air quality index (AQI), as recorded by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), was 314, in the “very poor” category.

Over the past one week, police have seized more than 3,000 kilos of firecrackers from different parts of the city. Most of the contraband has been smuggled in from states where there is no ban on the sale or storage of crackers, police said, adding that some shopkeepers were also trying to sell crackers that they had stocked last year.

In places such as Sadar Bazar, Chandni Chowk and Bara Hindu Rao, where there are wholesale markets for firecrackers, police are conducting frequent surprise checks and even sending police personnel as decoy customers. (HT Graphics)

In 2020, licences were issued to several retailers after which they had stocked up on firecrackers. But just days before Diwali, the government imposed a ban on the sale of firecrackers, leaving retailers holding on to stocks that they could no longer sell. In at least three instances this year, police have arrested shopkeepers for trying to sell this year-old stock to customers.

In places such as Sadar Bazar, Chandni Chowk and Bara Hindu Rao, where there are wholesale markets for firecrackers, police are conducting frequent surprise checks and even sending police personnel as decoy customers. Police are also randomly stopping shoppers for bag checks. On Monday, seven such shoppers were caught with 77 kilos of firecrackers.

Speaking about the seizure of 879 kilos of crackers from a godown in Sadar Bazar, deputy commissioner of police(DCP), north district, Sagar Singh Kalsi said the arrested suspect, Mohammed Izaj, sells toys from a pavement in Sadar Bazar. “ He is originally from Bihar and was working as a labourer initially. Later, he started selling toys from the footpath. He came in contact with a Hisar resident, who promised him easy money by selling crackers. He also took a room on rent to store the crackers, which he had purchased from Hisar, Haryana, and ferried to Delhi in two different vehicles.”

Because of the blanket ban on crackers, Delhi Police is filing cases under the more stringent sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Explosives Act.

In the second case, four persons were arrested from Arya Nagar village near Karkardooma for allegedly smuggling 294 kilos of firecrackers and trying to sell them in Delhi. Police said the four men, including a 53-year-old shopkeeper, bought the firecrackers from Gurugram, Haryana, and were planning to sell them in the city.

Another shopkeeper was arrested from Babarpur in north-east Delhi for allegedly smuggling in 32 kilos of the contraband from Dehradun, Uttarakhand. DCP (north-east district) Sanjay Kumar Sain said police have arrested suspect Amit Mittal,36, in the case.