MEERUT: Directing all police stations in the Meerut range to ensure no illegal stocking or manufacturing of firecrackers take place under their jurisdiction, IG Praveen Kumar has warned the SHOs that in case of laxity, “you will directly be held responsible”.
The order came in the backdrop of the killing of five workers in a blast at an illegal manufacturing unit in Shamli recently. Besides, a stock of illegal firecrackers was also found in Muzaffarnagar.
“With Diwali round the corner, illegal activities like stocking and manufacturing of sub-standard firecrackers begin to take place. The police stations have been directed to hold special drives to check such activities,” said Kumar.
The Meerut police range comprises Meerut, Baghpat, Bulandshahr, Hapur and Ghaziabad. “Not only the stocking of sub-standard firecrackers is dangerous for the region, but it also hurts users,” he added.
On October 1, a massive blast in a building where an illegal firecracker manufacturing unit was being run in Kairana razed it to the ground, claiming four lives and injuring several others. According to sources, more than two dozen men were working in the factory at the time of the accident.
On October 7, Muzaffarnagar police seized illegal crackers worth lakhs of rupee from a house in the city. The seizure also included equipment and raw material used for manufacturing crackers. According to police sources, two persons — Saddam and Sanawwar — were arrested from the site.
