Illegally stocked fireworks in a bakery shop
In Azamgarh, Mubarakpur police arrested Gulab Gupta (35), a resident of Pura Rani, on Wednesday night and booked him under sections 5/9B of the Explosives Act. The arrest followed the recovery of 323 kg of assorted fireworks, packed in 14 sacks, worth around Rs 50,000. Gupta had allegedly escaped when police raided a house rented by him on Oct 29 and seized the fireworks. In Ballia, Sahatwar police recovered 525 kg of illegally stored explosive material from the houses of Balaji alias Aneesh in Ward 3 and Chandan Gupta in Ward 6. Officials estimated the value of the seizure at around Rs 4 lakh. Rahul Singh, a resident of Khandwari Chahaniya, was arrested after police seized 103 kg of fireworks from nine cartons kept in a room adjoining the shop. A case was registered under section 288 of BNS and section 9B of the Explosives Act. In Jaunpur, Madiyahu police arrested Imtiyaz Ahmad, 48, and Mohammad Kaif, 23, both residents of Bhandariya Tola, for allegedly operating an illegal cracker-manufacturing unit. The seizure included large quantities of finished crackers, raw explosive material, sulphur, gunpowder, aluminium cuttings, paper covers, wicks, tools, weighing equipment, pipes, 1,530 empty earthen shells and a drone camera. A case was registered under sections 5/9B(1)(A)(B) of the Explosives Act.
Police said the duo used a drone camera to monitor police movement. Varanasi: Police seized large stocks of illegally stored fireworks and explosive materials from houses, a bakery shop and other locations during raids in Chandauli, Jaunpur, Ballia and Azamgarh districts ahead of the festive season. In Chandauli, Balua police raided Riddhi Bakers near Chahaniya crossing following a tip-off and uncovered an illegal fireworks storage facility behind the bakery.