A total of 261 people were arrested in the Capital for allegedly selling and bursting illegal firecrackers, and over 9,500 kg of firecrackers have been seized, the Delhi Police said on Monday.
As per data shared by the police, 210 people were arrested between Sunday and early hours of Monday for selling and bursting illegal firecrackers; 51 people were arrested earlier.
A total of 166 people were arrested for bursting illegal firecrackers while 44 were arrested for selling them.
Most arrests were made from North East Delhi district with 52 persons being held on Diwali; followed by West Delhi where 30 persons were arrested.
Over 400 cases lodged
Most cases, at 58, were registered in West Delhi. “A total of 433 cases have been registered under the Explosives Act and under Section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC; out of which 371 were registered on Diwali,” said a Delhi Police spokesperson.
The police said that the most quantity of firecrackers were seized from Outer North Delhi — where 2,653 kg of crackers were recovered — and North West Delhi, where 1,806 kg were recovered. The least quantity was recovered from Central Delhi at 41.8 kg.
“In addition to the recovery of 9,758 kg of fireworks, 54,000 packets containing crackers and a few bombs and shots were recovered,” the officer said.
In 2018, the Supreme Court had banned polluting firecrackers and ordered that only green crackers, which are said to cause 30% less pollution, can be manufactured and sold. Crackers can also be burst only between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
