Over 650 kg of crackers seized in raids in last three days

New Delhi: The crackdown on illegal firecrackers by Delhi Police continued in the Capital, as more than 650 kg of the same was seized and four men were arrested in different raids in the last two days in north Delhi, cops said on Sunday.

In a raid at a shop in Sadar Bazar, 625 kg of firecrackers were seized on Saturday night. Further, in two raids in Subzi Mandi area, 11.1 kg and 10 kg of crackers were seized, while 7.9 kg of crackers were seized from Burari by police.

The source from where all the accused purchased the firecrackers is been investigated.

Police said that during patrolling on Saturday, head constable Sandeep Chawla receives a tip-off about firecrackers and explosive items being stocked at shop number 203, opposite Qutub Road Parking in Sadar Bazar.

A raid was immediately conducted on the shop, and firecrackers and explosive items weighing 625 kg was seized. During verification, 35-year-old Ravinder was found to be the owner of the shop.

"Based on the statement of Sandeep Chawla, a case under Section 286 of IPC and sections 5 and 9B of the Explosives Act has been registered. Investigation is going on to trace the source of the recovered firecrackers and explosive items," said a police statement.

"The accused is a seasonal vendor who, at the time of different festivals, sells things related to the festival," said a police officer.

Last Tuesday, cops arrested a man possessing 23 kg of crackers. The accused Vikash was arrested during night patrolling by a team from Sadar Bazar police station.

Investigations revealed that the accused wanted to sell the crackers in the Diwali market as well as local shops.

Last week, staff from Tilak Nagar police station arrested one person for illegally storing 625 kg of crackers.

This was the third case registered at Tilak Nagar police station in the last week. Earlier, 490 kg and 75 kg of illegal firecrackers were recovered in two separate raids.

In 2017, several thousands of kilograms of firecrackers were recovered in various raids.

Last year's Delhi Police data, accessed by Millennium Post, claimed that around 959.3 kg of crackers were recovered from Rohini district, whereas 367.5 kg was seized from North Delhi, and 397.4 kg was seized from Shahdara.

More than 400 kg was seized from East and North East Delhi.

So far this year, Delhi Police received as many as 538 applications for temporary licenses for sale of firecrackers.