Overview
- On Diwali night (November 8) arguments over bursting firecrackers in neighbourhoods across several states escalated into shootings, stabbings and mass assaults that left multiple people dead and many more injured.
- A high‑profile case in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh left 26‑year‑old Saurabh Tomar of the President’s Bodyguard shot in the head; surgeons removed the bullet and he remains in critical condition while police have filed an FIR and are hunting two named suspects.
- In Mumbai’s Malvani area an explosion at a ground‑floor shop storing firecrackers caused a slab collapse and a 16‑year‑old boy died after suffering extensive burns, with the city fire brigade extinguishing the blaze.
- Local forces have registered cases, formed special teams and made arrests in multiple cities including Nagpur, Juhu, Deo Nagar and Thane, and courts have remanded several accused for police custody as investigations continue.
- Festival demand and unsafe handling or storage of pyrotechnics compounded public‑space disputes this year, straining emergency services and prompting calls for stricter enforcement of firecracker safety and storage rules.