Diwali fireworks backfire: Over 300 people arrested for violating SC order

^{(Photo Credit: Wikipedia)}

• Delhi police booked 562 people on Diwali night and arrested 310 for violating the Supreme Court’s order restricting the use of fireworks in the national capital.
• Police seize 2,776 kgs of crackers from across the region, according to official reports.
• Out of the total documented cases, 87 people and 72 cases were booked in relation to the sale of firecrackers.

Police in India’s national capital came down hard on violators of the recent Supreme Court order restricting the use of firecrackers, a huge contributor to Delhi’s toxic smog.

On Diwali night – India’s ‘festival of lights’ – Delhi police reportedly registered over 500 cases and arrested over 300 people across the city for flouting Supreme Court’s restrictions on the use of fireworks.

India’s apex court had recently allowed the use of firecrackers only within a two-hour window on Diwali night along with restricting firecracker sales to only ‘green fireworks’ in the Delhi- NCR region, in response to the rising smog levels in the city.

Delhi police also reportedly confiscated over 2,776 kgs of firecrackers from across the national capital region, arresting 87 people in connection to illegal sale of firecrackers.

In addition, 24 juveniles were also booked under the Juvenile Act for violating the directions. Overall, over 562 cases were registered under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code for disobeying the order.

No Change

It also appeared that despite the restriction on firecrackers sale, the amount of firecrackers used this Diwali was the same as last year.

Close to 5 million kgs of firecrackers were used this year, ET reported by. That corresponds to over 1,50,000 kgs of PM2.5 particles, which are extremely toxic.

On Thursday, Delhi’s Air Quality Index in Delhi further deteriorated to 642, and is expected to remain ‘severe’ in part due to smoke from fireworks.