Vikash Sharma

As part of its ongoing strategy to check illegal sale of illegal firecrackers ahead of Diwali, the Commissionerate Police on Thursday seized huge quantity of firecrackers from a shop located at Unit-1 market in Bhubaneswar.

The firecrackers were seized following a raid on the shop by a team of Commissionerate Police officials. Senior officials said that the concerned owner of the shop was selling the firecrackers without any valid license or permission.

“We will take legal action against the shop owner and other suppliers for violating the norms and selling firecrackers without any permission,” said a senior police official.

The crackdown assumes much significance as Unit-1 is one the crowded markets in the heart of the Capital city. Selling firecrackers without valid license and other safety measures could have led to a major disaster, said police.

The shop owner, on the other hand, said that it was only yesterday that he had stocked the firecrackers inside his shop.

It is pertinent to mention here that Odisha government has identified several places in the city for selling firecrackers during Diwali.

As per a letter issued by the GA & PG Department, permission has been granted for selling firecrackers at seven places in Bhubaneswar during Diwali-2022.

Earlier on Wednesday, Commissionerate Police arrested as many as six people on charges of illegally manufacturing and selling firecrackers in Cuttack.

A team of Jagatpur Police conducted raids at Padmapur and Trilochanpur while acting on allegations of illegal cracker sale in the area. During the search, the team seized a huge cache of firecrackers worth over Rs 5 lakh.

Besides, on Thursday, six firecrackers-laden vehicles were seized by police near Nalabanta area under Aska in Ganjam district. While the police arrested one person, other nine people involved in the illegal transport managed to give the cops a miss.

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