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The Ludhiana Police on Tuesday during a raid unearthed a massive quantity of firecrackers stored illegally at a godwon in a residential area in Begoana village at the Ludhiana-Malerkotla Road. A person was arrested in connection with the illegal storage.
At least 350 boxes of firecrackers were seized by the police during the operation at the godown situated near the Mechanical Engineering Research and Development Organization (MERADO) and Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College.
A huge hoarding of a local Congress leader was installed on the roof of the godown. The police are yet to ascertain if the accused deliberately displayed the poster to avoid action, or if the leader was involved in the illegal storage of fire crackers.
Police said the accused had deceived locals by claiming that the boxes stored in the godown contained packs of biscuits which would be sold during Diwali. This misleading information posed a serious risk to the lives of hundreds of people residing in the vicinity, as even a minor spark could trigger a major tragedy.
Harish Singh, a resident of Bank Colony in Haibowal, has been arrested in connection with the illegal storage. His aides, Rajvir Singh of Jawahar Nagar Camp and Bobby of Dhuri in Sangrur are yet to be arrested.
Commissioner of police Mandeep Singh Sidhu said that the police received a tip-off about the illegal firecracker storage. Acting promptly on the information received, a raid was conducted, leading to the discovery and seizure of the cache of firecrackers. Locals informed the police that five trucks had unloaded the boxes at the godown a couple of days ago.
Harish told police that he had bought the fire crackers from Bobby for ₹8 lakh, which the latter had stored in different godowns in Dhuri, which he would sell among the shopkeepers for ₹50 lakh. The accused also told police that he had taken the godown on ₹15,000 rent per month from an NRI Sandeep Kaur, who is the owner of the godown and settled in England.
The commissioner of police said, “During the investigation, it was found that the accused did not possess a licence to store firecrackers. Furthermore, no safety measures were taken while storing the hazardous materials.”
Usually the stores where firecrackers are kept are away from residential areas and there would be no power supply to the building. He further revealed that one accused has been arrested from the godown and efforts are ongoing to arrest the other accused involved in the illegal storage of the firecrackers.
The commissioner of police stated that a major tragedy had been averted. He mentioned previous incidents in Dirba of Sangrur and Batala, where illegally stored firecrackers had led to significant tragedies. An FIR has been registered against the accused under sections 286, 336 of the IPC, and section 9 (b) 2 of the Explosives Act at Sadar Police Station.
Acquaintance had taken godown on rent: Caretaker
Caretaker of the godown Karamjit Kaur stated that an ‘acquaintance’ had availed the building from her on rent claiming that they will use the godown for party meetings and to store gifts, which they would distribute among their friends and relatives on Diwali. Kaur stated that she had no idea that the accused had stored firecrackers in the godown.
DCP bans storage of firecrackers in residential areas
After recovery of illegally stored firecrackers, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Harmeet Singh Hundal has banned production and storage of fire crackers in the residential areas of the city on Tuesday.
He added that the ban has been imposed as a mishap related to firecrackers could turn into a major tragedy. The police will take stern action against the violators. The orders will remain effective for two months.
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