141 arrested in Gautam Budh Nagar for bursting firecrackers on Diwali

The unchecked bursting of firecrackers caused pollution levels to spike in the district, with the air quality breaching the ‘severe’ category. An air quality index reading above 400 is considered to be ‘severe’

Gautam Budh Nagar police registered 114 FIRs against 141 people for bursting firecrackers on Diwali. Police said all the persons were arrested and later released on bail.

A man burns firecrackers on Diwali at Sector 19 in Noida on Friday. (Sunil Ghosh)

The unchecked bursting of firecrackers caused pollution levels to spike in the district, with the air quality breaching the ‘severe’ category. An air quality index reading above 400 is considered to be ‘severe’.

On Saturday, Noida and Greater Noida had an AQI recording of 461 and 414 respectively.

Love Kumar, joint commissioner of police, Gautam Budh Nagar, said the commissionerate did not issue licences for the sale of firecrackers to any vendor this year. “The police had deployed their enforcement teams and also registered cases against some vendors for unauthorised sale of firecrackers. The police team also stopped people from bursting firecrackers in Noida and Greater Noida. It seems some people managed to get the firecrackers and burst them on Diwali,” said Kumar.

Rajesh S, deputy commissioner of police, Noida, said 43 people were booked in 31 FIRs in Noida. He said police teams ensured the enforcement of rules and regulations in the jurisdiction of different police stations and even cracked down on people bursting firecrackers.

“The suspects have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and also under Explosive Substances Act. They have been served notices under Section 41-A of the Criminal Procedure Code to appear before court as and when required,” said the DCP.

Sub-inspector Sunil Kumar said that he was on duty in Sadarpur village where he spotted a man bursting firecrackers on Diwali. “The suspect was identified as Rambhajan, a resident of Sadarpur village. A case has been registered against him under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 278 (making atmosphere noxious to health) of the IPC at Sector 39 police station,” he said.

A few cases were also registered in Greater Noida. Ayodhya Prasad, a sub-inspector at Kasna police station, said some men were bursting firecrackers near Gharbara road. “We reached the spot and saw a number of people bursting firecrackers. Most of them fled the spot when they saw us. We apprehended two suspects – Pankaj Kumar and Sandeep Kumar, who said they were aware of the ban on firecrackers but were still bursting them. A case has been registered against them under Section 188 of the IPC and Section 9B of the Explosive Substances Act, 1884,” said Prasad.

Police also lodged some cases against vendors for illegally selling firecrackers without a licence. Sector Beta 2 police registered a case against two vendors, identified as Zakir and Mohan (known by their first names), in Bironda village on Friday. The two were later released on bail.