Vijayawada: Illegally stored crackers worth 11.5 lakh seized

Vijayawada: City Task Force police seized Diwali fire crackers worth Rs11.50 lakh, illegally stored in a grocery shop at Yanamalakuduru village under the Penamaluru police station limits on Wednesday night.

Acting on a tip off, the Task Force police raided the grocery shop and noticed 103 boxes of crackers stored in the shop. They handed over the crackers to the Penamaluru police for further investigation.

A trader Dasari Mahesh of Prasadampadu village had purchased the crackers and illegally stored in the residential area to make money. The Task Force police said the trader had not obtained permission to buy and store the crackers.

Commissioner of Police B Srinivasulu said the traders must take permission from the police and other departments for doing the business. He said storing the firecrackers in the residential areas is an offence and stringent action would be taken against the culprits. He said the traders must follow fire safety rules and take all kinds of precautions for the storage of crackers in the isolated areas.

Under the supervision of Task Force ADCP KV Srinivasa Rao, Task Force ACPs GV Ramana Murthy and VSN Varma and other officials conducted the raid and seized fire crackers.