Delhi Police arrest man with 1,115kg firecrackers in Rohini

In one of the largest seizures of banned firecrackers this year, the Rohini district police on Friday said they recovered 1,115 kilograms of non-green and green firecrackers from a warehouse in Sector 24, Rohini on Thursday

In one of the largest seizures of banned firecrackers this year, the Rohini district police on Friday said they recovered 1,115 kilograms of non-green and green firecrackers from a warehouse in Sector 24, Rohini on Thursday. The owner of the warehouse was arrested for stocking the banned crackers for illegal sale during Diwali, the police said.

The Delhi government announced a “complete ban” on the sale, use, and storage of firecrackers in the Capital this Diwali. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

This is the fifth such seizure of illegal firecrackers in Delhi since September 15, when the Delhi government announced a “complete ban” on the sale, use, and storage of firecrackers in the Capital this Diwali. This pre-emptive ban was imposed in view of the city’s deteriorating air quality over the past three years, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had said.

Deputy commissioner of police (Rohini) Pranav Tayal said that on Thursday, the district’s special staff received information regarding a stock of illegal firecrackers in Rohini’s Sector 24. Accordingly, a raid was conducted and the team arrested Amit Mittal, 44, while he was unloading the banned crackers at his rented warehouse.

“The total weight of the seized crackers was 1,115 kilograms. Mittal failed to provide us with any legal document and valid license authorising the possession and storage of the firecrackers. He was storing the crackers in a residential area, which could be hazardous to the local residents,” said DCP Tayal.

“The warehouse where the crackers were being stored also did not have a license for storage. We are now trying to trace the source of crackers,” he added.

Between October 7 and 13, the north district police conducted two operations, seized nearly 900 kilograms of banned firecrackers, and arrested three persons. Earlier this week, the Shahdara district seized 68 kilograms of illegal crackers while the central district police seized 90kg.