Police crackdown on cracker sale, 360 kg recovered after multiple raids

Twenty people from different places in Gurugram were arrested for allegedly selling crackers despite the ban on sale and bursting of crackers of any kind in the

Twenty people from different places in Gurugram were arrested for allegedly selling crackers despite the ban on sale and bursting of crackers of any kind in the city, said police on Friday.

HT Image

City police commissioner KK Rao said that they have alerted their informers and deployed police personnel in plainclothes across the city in a massive crackdown on cracker sale. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) earlier this month had ordered zero tolerance on such activities this month in the national capital region (NCR) in view of the deteriorating air quality.

“We had prepared a list of shopkeepers who used to sell crackers and were history sheeters. Our teams are deployed at all suspected locations and are keeping an eye on the same and bursting crackers including residential areas. Although it is the festive season, violators will not be spared,” said Rao.

He said the station house officers of 40 police stations have contacted the resident welfare association members and shopkeepers to ensure no illegal activity is carried out in their area.

Police arrested shopkeepers from Sector 40, Sector 10, Sector 56, Sohna Road, Pataudi, Sohna , Badshahpur, Golf Course Road and Sadar market between Thursday and Friday, for storing and selling firecrackers. They seized 360kg of the banned items. Police booked the suspects under section 9B of the Explosive Act at respective police stations, said police.

The crackers seized were packed for delivery to shopkeepers in posh areas and had already taken advance from them, said police.

“We are also seeking the records of storage of crackers in shops and godowns everyday and the teams are visiting them twice. They have been informed any mismatch found in the stock, legal action will be taken against them,” said Rao.

A total of nine teams with 230 personnel are deployed in Sadar market where most of the known cracker shops are located. Since Thursday, special teams are conducting surprise checks in markets and residential areas to enforce the ban. Similar arrangements were made in rural areas as well, said police.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police said that the teams have recovered crackers which were mislabelled as green crackers that are said to cut down emission by a third. “The shopkeepers had kept the stock to sell before Diwali and make good profits as it was banned and not easily available in any open market,” he said.

Police control room vans and motorbikes are taking rounds across the city to see if anyone is bursting crackers. Police said they have intensified checking at all the borders and major intersections to control the traffic movements and are checking all suspected vehicles.