About 1,400 kg illegal firecrackers were seized today from two shops in a densely populated area in central Delhi's Sadar market and the owners arrested, just days ahead of Diwali.
Acting on a tip off, Crime Branch officials yesterday raided two shops (numbered 5451/A and 5452/A) at Gandhi Market in Sadar Bazar and arrested their owners -- Rahul Luthra (31) and Sanjeev Kumar (45) -- for being involved in illegal trade of fire crackers, a senior police official said.
Police also seized 1,400 kg crackers from the shops of Luthra, resident of Anand Vihar in Pitampura, and Kumar alias Ashu, resident of Kohat Enclave in Pitampura, stored illegally.
The toy shop owners failed to produce valid license for the crackers, which were stored in the densely populated area of Gandhi Market, and any untoward incident might have resulted in big loss of life and property, the official said.
During interrogation, they allegedly confessed that they had plans to earn huge profits during Diwali by selling the stocked crackers at high rates.
