Illegal Firecrackers Worth Over Rs 10 Lakh Seized, 3 Arrested In Odisha’s Ganjam

Berhampur: Police have seized illegal firecrackers worth more than Rs 10 lakh and arrested three persons during a raid on a village in Odisha’s Ganjam district.

According to police sources, two platoons of police along with IIC of Aska police station Rajendra Narayan Pattnaik, IIC of Kotinada police station Krushna Chandra Saha, led by SDPO Sanjay Mohapatra conducted the raid on Nalabanta village under Aska police station on Tuesday morning.

Earlier, the police were informed about stock of huge amount of illegally produced fire-crackers in Nalabanta which is known as Shivakasi of Ganjam district for large scale production of crackers. While some villagers make the crackers with necessary permission, a good number of them, including women and children, are engaged in illegal trade.

During the raid on the village, the police team seized illegally produced crackers worth more than Rs 10 lakh from the different houses of village and its surrounding areas. They also arrested three persons including Buddhiram Sethi, his son Pintu Sethi and Jitendra Jena. Six others managed to escape from the village.

The police have registered six cases following the raid and launched further investigation, the sources said.