NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police has launched raids across the capital, arresting six men and seizing roughly 1.7 tonnes of banned firecrackers this month.
DCP Pankaj Kumar said teams struck in Dwarka, Rohini, Uttam Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Mukundpur and Shahdara after the Supreme Court recently directed to clamp down on storage and sale of illegal fireworks.
Overall, police impounded 1,645 kg of contraband pyrotechnics and a pickup truck, he added. In the first phase, officers unearthed over 916 kg of banned fireworks during coordinated raids in Dwarka, Rohini and Uttam Nagar. Acting on a tip-off, police arrested grocery shop owner Akash Gupta(24) after recovering 13 cartons and a sack of assorted illegal items from his house.
Gupta said he had procured the goods from pickup driver Chander Kant (36), who was later intercepted in Rohini with 400 kg of firecrackers. Based on Kant’s disclosure, police raided the home of Rishi Raj (37) in Uttam Nagar and recovered 182 kg of fireworks.
Meanwhile, in Shastri Nagar, officers arrested Rahul Sagar (34) and seized 412 kg of fireworks. In Mukundpur’s Bhalaswa Dairy area, a residential building operating under the guise of an LED-bulb manufacturing unit concealed 311kg of banned stock and Sonu (30) was taken into custody. In Shahdara’s Ashok Nagar Market, Vishal Sharma (34) was arrested with 106 kg of firecrackers.