Crackers worth ₹3.5 lakh seized in Noida, one held

Police said the accused tried to flee when the police raided his house, but he was caught

Acting on the Supreme Court’s order banning the sale of crackers in Delhi-NCR, a police team on Monday arrested a 30-year-old man in Phase-II area for illegally storing crackers at his residence to sell them.

The crackers had been sourced from Farrukhnagar in Ghaziabad where some fireworks manufacturing units were running prior to the ban (HT PHOTO)

The crackers had been sourced from Farrukhnagar in Ghaziabad where some fireworks manufacturing units were running prior to the ban.

Police said the suspect has been identified as Vijay Kushwaha and 60 kg crackers worth Rs 3.5 lakh were seized from him. Kushwaha allegedly wanted to sell the crackers in his area before Diwali, police said .

A patrolling team of Phase-II police station received a tip-off about the crackers and nabbed the man. Station House Officer, Phase-II police station, Shahwez Khan, said,“Police are closely monitoring the sale of crackers. We got the information from our sources and raided the area. The crackers were concealed in sacks. Kushwaha wanted to sell them in black.”

Shawez said Kushwaha tried to run from his house when the police raided but they managed to arrest him.

Read I Ghaziabad: Environmentalists welcome Supreme Court’s decision to ban sale of crackers on Diwali

After the ban, city magistrate Rajesh Kumar cancelled as many 87 applications seeking permission to sell crackers.

The Supreme Court imposed a ban on the sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR ahead of Diwali, in a pre-emptive step to stop a toxic haze from engulfing the region. NCR comprises Delhi and parts of Haryana, UP and Rajasthan.