KENDRAPARA/BARGARH : Police seized large quantities of illegal firecrackers during two separate raids in Kendrapara and Bargarh districts in the last 24 hours.
In Kendrapara, Marshaghai police raided an illegal firecracker manufacturing unit at Ostar village, leading to seizure of a huge cache of crackers, live bombs and other explosives on Tuesday.
Owner of the unit, Gadadhar Mallick, managed to escape before the arrival of police. A case was registered against the illegal cracker manufacturer under sections 287 and 288 of BNS and section 5 of Odisha Fireworks and Loud Speaker (Regulation) Act, 1958, said IIC of Marshaghai police station Tapan Nayak.
Police are trying to ensure strict implementation of cracker sale norms. “Our first target is to keep tabs on cracker-manufacturing units which should be located at an open space away from any residential locality. We are also checking if the cracker-making units have valid licence issued by the district administration,” Nayak added.
Similarly, in Bargarh, a significant haul of illegal firecrackers worth over `3 lakh was seized by Attabira police from a house in Babebira village on Monday night. Police also arrested one K Chandra Sekhar Reddy (47) from whose house the firecrackers were seized.
Acting on credible information, police raided Babebira village at around 7 pm and unearthed the large stock of unlicensed firecrackers in Reddy’s house. The seized stock included a mix of pocket crackers, rockets, sound bombs, ground spinners and multi-shot explosives.
A case was registered under section 288 of BNS, section 9 (B) of the Indian Explosives Act and section 5 of Odisha Fireworks and Loud Speaker (Regulation) Act, 1958. Reddy was produced in court on Tuesday, said police.