NEW DELHI — Delhi Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kapil Mishra demanded a criminal investigation on Monday into a sudden ten-fold surge in Punjab stubble fires on Diwali, accusing the ruling Aam Aadmi Party of orchestrating farm burnings to malign AirNews festival and poison Delhi's air.
Farm fire counts exploded overnight. Central government satellite monitoring detected 1,200 stubble burning points across Punjab on November 8, jumping from just 125 fires recorded on November 7. Mishra insisted the sudden spike was no seasonal accident. He alleged that saboteurs torched fields while cultivators were home celebrating, citing direct phone calls from distraught farmers to him and BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa.
"The data proves that this was a premeditated move," Mishra said at a press conference in New Delhi. "I want to urge Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to investigate the 1,200 fires that broke out yesterday evening and file FIRs. Check the phone records of the Aam Aadmi Party members from Delhi who are in Punjab to see how they began campaigning two days ago. They knew two days ago that the AQI would rise. And if they deliberately set fires, as appears to be the case, then they should be sent to jail."
The accusations landed as winter smog choked the capital into emergency territory. Air Quality Index monitors across Delhi crossed the severe 400 threshold on Monday morning. Readings peaked at 439 at the Delhi Technological University station, while Burari Crossing recorded 433, Vivek Vihar hit 421, and North Campus and Sonia Vihar clocked 419 each.
Federal regulators pushed back with statutory enforcement data. The Commission for Air Quality Management confirmed that satellite tracking logged 4,459 cumulative farm fires across Punjab through November 8. Flying squads conducted ground inspections across 2,998 sites, verifying burning at 1,310 locations.
| Enforcement Metric | Official CAQM Tally | BNS / Legal Provision | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Stubble Fires Logged | 4,459 | Punjab State Tracking | Recorded through Nov 8 |
| Verified Burn Sites | 1,310 | On-Ground Inspection | Confirmed from 2,998 checks |
| First Information Reports | 884 | Section 223 BNS | Registered by Police |
| Land Record 'Red Entries' | 1,017 |
Police have registered 884 First Information Reports under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, while revenue officials stamped penal 'red entries' onto the land titles of 1,017 farms to freeze government subsidies. Regulators have also summoned 18 administrative nodal officers for criminal prosecution under Section 14 of the CAQM Act over enforcement failures in their jurisdictions.
Mann's administration in Chandigarh has not yet responded to Mishra's formal demand to seize call logs or open a conspiracy docket against Delhi-based political workers.
| Revenue Department |
| Penal Action Applied |
| Nodal Officers Prosecuted | 18 | Section 14 CAQM Act | Proceedings Launched |