Bengaluru police begin crackdown on online sale of non-green crackers after KSPCB nudge

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held a video conference with all Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police and directed them to grant permission only to burst green crackers

Following directions from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), the Bengaluru City Police have begun filing cases against vendors who have been advertising, selling, and delivering non-green crackers through online platforms.

Store owner booked

The Bandepalya Police have registered a FIR against a shopkeeper for selling the banned non-green crackers online on a platform called bookcrackers.com. The owner of the shop called Shivananda Stores had been advertising the sale of a variety of crackers online. The accused was booked under Section 287 (negligent conduct in relation to fire or combustible materials) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and also under the Explosives Act, 1884.

The KSPCB has allowed the bursting of only green crackers between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. from October 31 to November 2. Manufacture, stocking and sale of all non-green crackers has been banned in the State. However, several online platforms have been advertising and delivering non-green crackers.

Citizen groups including PACT, The Compassionate City, and Namma Bengaluru Foundation, petitioned Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh over the same. Following this, the KSPCB issued another order clarifying that the online advertising and the sale of non-green crackers was also banned and directed the city police to file an report on the action taken daily.

CM’s direction

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held a video conference with all Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police and directed them to grant permission only for bursting green crackers during Deepavali. He told them to avoid any lapses in the storage, transportation, loading and unloading of firecrackers. It can be recalled that over a dozen people were killed last year in a fire at a cracker godown at Attibele near the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka border.

City Police Commissioner B. Dayananda has directed jurisdictional police to keep a tab on shops and commercial establishments involved in the sale of crackers illegally. Meanwhile, Bengaluru City Cyber Crime Police have issued warning against advertisement and sale of the banned non-green crackers online.

Published - October 27, 2024 07:00 am IST