New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS): Delhi Police arrested over 850 people and registered more than 1,200 cases for selling and bursting crackers on Diwali night in violation of a ban on firecrackers in the national capital.

A total of 1314 kilograms of crackers were also seized from various parts of Delhi on Saturday.

Maximum cases were registered in outer north district (165) followed by North West which reported a total of 127 while minimum cases were registered in New Delhi and Central district (17).

"A total of 1,206 cases in connection with firecrackers were registered in Delhi. This is the Diwali night figure," said Anil Mittal, Additional PRO Delhi Police.

Policemen were seen making public announcements asking people to avoid bursting crackers as it could induce legal action. The senior police officers also visited the busy markets and colonies and urged people to abstain from bursting crackers. However as the night wore on, the sound of bursting of firecrackers filled the air and many people resorted to social media to report the ban violation.

Police teams were also seen checking the busy markets on Diwali for Covid guidelines' violation especially for not wearing masks.

On Sunday morning, after the Diwali celebrations, a thick blanket of noxious smog had enveloped the national capital and raised pollution in the city to "emergency" level on Sunday where the hourly average concentrations of PM 2.5, a deadly pollutant, touched more than 1000ug/m3 at midnight.