3 VIOLATE SC’S CRACKER ORDER IN PALGHAR, TROUBLE LOCALS

PALGHAR: Three people were booked on Wednesday by the Palghar police for bursting firecrackers in front of at least 20 houses in Kharekhuran village from 2am to 2.30am, beyond the time limit prescribed by the Supreme Court (SC) in an October order. The complainant has alleged that they were drunk.

According to an SC directive, citizens are allowed to burst firecrackers only between 8pm and 10pm. The two accused have been identified as Rohan Rajan Naikand and Sanket Meher, while the identity of the third has not yet been determined.

The complaint was filed by one Dipesh Naik, 26, who claimed that the accused placed ‘sutli bombs’, a type of firecracker which makes a loud noise, in front of at least 20 homes till 2.30am. Naik’s complaint details how several inhabitants were inconvenienced as a result of the violations.

“We were all tired after a hard day’s work and were woken up from our deep sleep as a result of the noises from the firecrackers being burst outside our homes. My sister is nine months pregnant and even she was disturbed from her sleep,” Naik recounts.

“Animals, such as cattle and stray dogs, were also scared of the noise and started running for cover,” he added.

Naik also alleged that the accused were inebriated. “The three accused were drunk and even broke some of the lanterns put up outside our homes. The residents then shooed them away,” he said.

The Palghar police have booked the accused under sections 427 (mischief), 504 (breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). This is the first complaint filed in Palghar since the SC order on October 23. SC had imposed a restriction on the bursting of firecrackers before 8pm and after 10pm, owing to concerns such as noise pollution and air quality.