Over 40 kg illegal firecrackers seized in Delhi, two held

New Delhi: Ahead of Diwali, the Delhi Police arrested two people from separate places and recovered over 40 kg illegal firecrackers from them, officials said on Tuesday.

In the first incident, police arrested Pawan Kumar, a resident of Tri Nagar, from west Delhi’s Mundka area with 16.160 kg firecrackers, they said.

On the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, police were patrolling and when they reached at Ghevra Mor, they saw one person going towards Nangloi on a scooter with a plastic bag, a senior police officer said.

Police intercepted the scooter and checked the plastic bag. They found firecrackers in it, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Parwinder Singh said.

Kumar disclosed that he runs a confectionery shop near his house in Tri Nagar. He had purchased the firecrackers from Bahadurgarh in Haryana and wanted to sell them at his shop on Diwali, police said.

In the other incident, a 32-year-old woman was arrested from Sultanpuri area with 25.5 kg firecrackers, they said.

On Monday, police were in Sultanpuri area when they got a tip-off about a woman having illegal firecrackers in P-4 Block. Acting on the information, police nabbed the woman, Singh said.

The accused was identified as Rani, a resident of Block P-4, and a total of 25.5 Kg illegal firecrackers were recovered from her possession, the DCP said.

Rani disclosed that she had bought the firecrackers from Gurgaon in Haryana in order to make quick money by selling them during the festival, police said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced a ban on firecrackers on September 15, saying it was “essential to save lives”.

On September 28, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee ordered a complete ban on the sale and bursting of firecrackers in the national capital till January 1, 2022.