Delhi Police have busted an alleged illegal firecracker manufacturing unit operating from a residential building in northeast Delhi's Gokalpuri area and apprehended three persons, recovering 880 finished firecrackers, 600 unfinished firecrackers and 34 kg of suspected explosive powder, officials said on Tuesday.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

The raid was conducted by a team from Gokalpuri police station on October 26 following information about an illegal firecracker manufacturing unit operating on the second floor of a house in Gali No. 14, Gokalpur village, according to police.

What police recovered

Police said a search of the premises led to the recovery of five boxes containing 880 finished cold pyro firecrackers, 600 unfinished firecrackers and 34 kg of suspected explosive powder. Officers also seized empty firecracker shells, a filling machine, a weighing machine and packaging material allegedly used in the manufacturing process, and said the recovered articles were seized following the prescribed procedure.

The three apprehended persons were identified by police as Mohit Goswami (29), Arman (24) and Sameer (21), who were allegedly involved in the illegal manufacturing and storage of firecrackers. Police said the three failed to produce any valid licence or permit authorising such activities, and that none of them has any previous criminal involvement on record. All three are residents of Farrukhnagar in Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh, police said. These are police allegations and have not been tested in court.

FIR under BNS and Explosives Act

Following the raid, FIR No. 286/26 was registered at Gokalpuri police station under Sections 125, 223(b) and 288 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 9B(1) of the Explosives Act, police said. Nation Press also listed the Gokalpuri bust among its Delhi reports for October 27.

Source: Nation Press

Police said the illegal manufacturing and storage of explosive substances in a residential area posed a serious threat to public safety. Investigators are examining how the unit was being operated and are expected to probe the source of the materials used in manufacturing the firecrackers, as well as their intended distribution. The investigation will continue, police said.