Delhi police seize 312 kg of illegal firecrackers in Shahdara, arrest 26-year-old

Delhi Police said on November 4 that its Shahdara district Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) arrested a 26-year-old man and recovered 311.97 kg of firecrackers from his home in Balbir Nagar. Police allege the man was selling the firecrackers illegally from his residence, and a case has been registered at Shahdara police station.

Tip-off, raid and case

According to police, the ANTF received confidential information on November 3 that the man was allegedly selling illegal firecrackers from his home, then raided the residence and apprehended him, seizing the full haul. The accused was identified as Harshit Mittal, 26, a resident of the Shiv Mandir area of Balbir Nagar. The case, FIR No. 256/26 dated November 3, 2026, was registered under Sections 288 and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNSS) and Section 9(b) of the Explosives Act. The operation was carried out by 11 ANTF personnel.

Police account and the pre-Diwali crackdown

Police said Mittal had reportedly been working at a restaurant on daily wages and allegedly turned to the illegal sale of firecrackers to overcome financial difficulties and earn quick money; he was arrested during the investigation and questioned about the alleged sale. That account of motive comes from police, the case remains under investigation, and it should not be treated as a conviction. With Diwali falling on November 8, Delhi Police have stepped up enforcement in recent weeks: on October 27, police raided an alleged illegal firecracker manufacturing unit in a residential building in Gokalpuri, northeast Delhi, apprehending three people and recovering 880 finished firecrackers, 600 unfinished firecrackers and 34 kg of suspected explosive powder.

The cover image is a stock photo of firecrackers, not a photograph of this seizure.