Delhi: 10 arrested, 700kg illegal firecrackers seized ahead of Diwali

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee had imposed a ban on the sale and bursting of firecrackers on September 28 in order to check the national capital's pollution levels.

The Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested 10 people from separate places for violating regulations against the sale of firecrackers in the national capital. The police recovered around 700kg illegal firecrackers from the violators.

The Delhi government has banned the sale and bursting of firecrackers during Diwali. (PTI)

The first person – Pawan Kumar, a resident of Tri Nagar – was arrested from west Delhi's Mundka area with 16.16kg firecrackers.

Another person was nabbed on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, while going towards Nangloi on a scooter with a plastic bag, a senior police officer said, as reported by PTI.

When police intercepted the scooter and checked the bag, they found firecrackers in it, said deputy commissioner of police (outer) Parwinder Singh.

Kumar told police he bought the firecrackers from Bahadurgarh in Haryana and wanted to sell them at his shop on Diwali, police said.

In a similar incident, a 32-year-old woman was arrested from the Sultanpuri area with 25.5kg firecrackers after police received a tip-off. The accused was identified as Rani, a resident of P-4 Block. She informed police that she bought the firecrackers from Gurgaon to make quick money.

Several others were arrested in a similar manner from Rohini, Sadar Bazaar and other parts of the national capital. Police recovered 570kg of completely banned non-green and green firecrackers from Rohini, while another 77.2kg worth of firecrackers were seized from the Sher Ka Pinjra area.

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee had on September 28 ordered a complete ban on the sale and bursting of firecrackers in the national capital till January 1, 2022. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced the same on September 15, saying it was "essential to save lives".