Delhi Police seize over 4,600 kg of firecrackers ahead of festive season; 10 held

The Delhi Police have so far seized over 4,600 kg of illegal firecrackers in separate operations across the city in the run-up to the festive season, an official said on Friday, adding that a total of 10 people have been apprehended so far.

The action comes amid a complete ban on the storage, sale and use of firecrackers in the national capital, imposed by the Delhi government in line with Supreme Court directions to curb air pollution.

Officials said the ban has been enforced to reduce hazardous emissions during Diwali, when the city’s air quality typically dips to severe levels.

According to the police, the biggest haul came on September 25 when 3,580.4 kilograms of firecrackers were recovered from a house in Rajouri Garden’s Vishal Enclave area.

A family of three, Sushil Kakkar, his wife Upasana, and their son Shivam, was arrested for allegedly stocking and repackaging the material.

“The consignment had been sourced from Meerut, Gurugram and Ghaziabad for resale in Delhi. But our sources informed us about the stocking and apprehended them. The firecrackers were stored in every nook and corner in the house, including the kitchen, putting others at a high risk,” said the police officer.

Earlier, on September 16, 225 kg of crackers were seized from a rooftop room in Badarpur’s Moladband area. The accused, Dharamvir Singh, a local resident, had allegedly procured the consignment from Palwal in Haryana to sell in the city.

On September 27, police raided a premises in Vijay Nagar, north Delhi, and recovered 164 kg of firecrackers. Two men, Lalit Kumar Gulati and Mukul Wasan, were arrested for allegedly transporting the material from Gurugram.

In another major operation, a team raided a building in Bindapur’s Matiala village on October 2 and found 693 kg of firecrackers concealed in a unit posing as an ice cream factory. Dilbagh Singh, who was managing the stock, was arrested. He had allegedly purchased the consignment from Kurali in Punjab.

Police said the total recovery between September 1 and October 2 stands at 4,662.4 kilograms.

“All accused people have been booked under provisions of the Explosives Act, and further investigations are underway to identify the larger supply chain,” the officer said.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police on Friday busted a racket in Mandoli and arrested three men, including a father-son duo, with the recovery of 914 boxes of banned firecrackers.

Bhagwati Prasad and his son Tarun Singhal were nabbed while delivering the consignment, leading to a raid at their shop near Nand Nagri Fatak, where 71 boxes were seized.

Subsequent questioning revealed their supplier, Rajiv Goel, from whose godown on Main Mandoli Road, 818 boxes were recovered. Goel later admitted that he had sourced the stock from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.

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“We have formed multiple teams who are now conducting raids at different locations to trace the source of firecrackers and to arrest them,” another police officer said.

The Delhi government has maintained that the firecracker ban is necessary to protect public health, as bursting crackers adds to already high levels of particulate matter in the air during the winter months. In past years, hospitals have reported spikes in respiratory cases following Diwali celebrations.

Police said that teams will continue special drives in the coming weeks to prevent illegal stocking and sale of firecrackers in the city.