The detained men told police that the seized balloons came from Sadar Bazaar in Delhi.
Two people were detained in Kanpur today after they were caught with packets of brightly coloured balloons with the imprints "I Love Pakistan". The balloons were allegedly being sold at a grocery shop in the Uttar Pradesh town where a raid was carried out.
Police said the packets - seized from a vendor - contained balloons which have "I Love Pakistan" and "Habibi(beloved)" imprints.
The two detained men told police that that the balloons came from 'Gubbarey Wali Gali' in Sadar Bazaar in New Delhi, one of the biggest and the oldest wholesale markets in the capital. A police team has been sent to Delhi for further investigation.
A senior police officer in Kanpur, Ashok Verma, told news agency PTI that it was a lawyer, associated with the right-wing group Hindu Yuva Vahini, who first noticed the balloons when he had gone to buy decorative items for his son's birthday from the shop, located near a police station. The lawyer soon alerted police.
The vendor has been identified as Sunny and the supplier has been identified as Sameer Vig. Police said a complaint has been registered against the men who live close to the shop .
Kanpur's top police officer, Inspector General of Police Alok Singh, appealed to the residents to immediately share information with the police if they come across similar cases.
(With inputs from PTI)