As the capital flouted the NGT-imposed cracker ban on Diwali, Delhi Police registered 1,206 cases against those caught bursting or selling firecrackers Saturday. This figure includes “kalandras”, which are formal complaints registered by police, as well. Police also received over 2,100 PCR calls over violations.
Delhi Police spokesperson Dr Eish Singhal said, “At least 850 people were arrested and boundown, which means they will be produced before a magistrate and surety amount will be deposited by them as decided.” He said of the 1,206 cases filed, most were against those who were caught bursting firecrackers.
A senior police officer said: “Most PCR calls were about firecrackers being burst in their neighbourhood. We were prepared that between 8 pm and 10 pm, people will violate the ban, and legal action was taken accordingly.”
In the West Delhi district, 89 cases were registered against those bursting crackers, while Outer North saw 159 challans for the offence. Police also seized 1,314.42 kg crackers from across the city.
As per data shared by Delhi Police, the maximum number of cases, including kalandras, were registered in Outer North Delhi (165), followed by North Delhi (146). Data also shows that 286 kg crackers were seized from Outer Delhi, followed by 266 kg from Shahdara.
Another senior police officer said, “The ban was implemented a few days ago, by then people had stocked up crackers at homes as sellers were being issued licences till early November. If it was decided a month or two in advance that no crackers will enter Delhi, then implementation would have been better.” He said most crackers seized on Diwali were of the less-polluting “green” variety.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) received 205 fire-related calls on Diwali. DFS chief Atul Garg said, “From 6 pm to midnight Saturday, we received 129 calls. This is lower than the last two years – 245 in 2019 and 271 in 2018.” He said over 2,000 firefighters were deployed on Saturday in case of emergency calls.