1,988kg of firecrackers at illegal warehouse seized in Gurugram

The sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers, excluding green firecrackers, are banned in Gurugram district

A total of 1,988 kilos of traditional and green firecrackers, valued at ₹60 lakh, that were illegally stored in a warehouse in Badshahpur were seized late Tuesday night, police said on Thursday, adding that 10 people have been arrested in this connection.

Police estimate that the seized firecrackers are worth more than ₹60 lakh. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

Acting on a tip that illegal firecrackers were stored in a warehouse without a licence and were being supplied to shopkeepers in Gurugram and neighbouring districts, a team from the chief minister’s flying squad raided the warehouse on Monday and seized the firecrackers.

The sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers, excluding green firecrackers, are banned in Gurugram district in anticipation of various events that take place during winter months, which aggravate air pollution levels in Haryana and also the National Capital Region. In October, the district administration, police and the chief minister’s flying squad formed teams to crack down on the illegal manufacture and sale of firecrackers in Gurugram ahead of Diwali.

“The warehouse had racks displaying all kinds of firecrackers in two rooms, and three people who were found on the scene were arrested. When the teams asked them for their licence, they were unable to provide one and had no invoices for the firecrackers. They claimed that the firecrackers were worth ₹20 lakh, but we estimate that they are worth more than ₹60 lakh,” said Inderjeet Yadav, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) of the chief minister’s flying squad.

A first information report was registered at the Badshahpur police station on Wednesday night under sections 9B (manufacturing, possessing or importing explosives by contravening prohibition) of The Explosives Act and sections 286 (dealing with any explosive substance with negligence), 336 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others), and 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code, said police.

The seized firecrackers were transported to the Badshahpur police station so they wouldn’t get stolen from the warehouse, while the three suspects were sent to 14 days’ judicial custody on Wednesday.

The police had previously discovered a big consignment of illegal firecrackers worth lakhs of rupees on the ground floor of a house in Farrukhnagar. The police had sealed the premises; however, on October 28, the police discovered that the lock was broken and the firecrackers had been stolen, with the thieves leaving the empty cartons behind.

The police then registered a first information report at Farrukhnagar police station against the house owner and the person using the ground floor as storage under sections 188 (disobedience or order duly promulgated by public servant) and 380 (theft from dwelling house) of Indian Penal Code and various sections of The Explosive Substances Act.