'Manja' tragedies: 6-yr-old killed by kite string in Rajasthan; 47-yr-old killed by stray thread in Maharashtra

In both the cases, the deceased were riding on a motorcycle when the stray 'manja' threads slit their throats killing them on the spot.

Rajkot/Thane: In a tragic incident, a 6-year-old boy was reportedly killed after his throat was slit by a stray 'manja' (kite string) while he was riding a motorbike with his father on Kothariya Road in Rajasthan's Rajkot on Saturday. In a similar incident reported in Maharashtra's Bhiwanid, a 47-year old lost his life.

According to Rajasthan police, the deceased identified as Rishabh was seated on the fuel tank along with his elder sister while his father Ajay Verma riding the with his mother as pillion rider on Saturday afternoon. Ajay, was employed as a labourer in Lotha village, in the outskirts of Rajkot city.

He was going towards the city from village with his family. When the bike reached near Ranuja Mandir on Kothariya Road of Rajkot, a stray manja got entangled in the boy's neck and slit his throat. Police said the string killed the boy on the spot in full view of his family.

In Maharashtra, the deceased was identified as Sanjay Hazare (47), resident of Ulhasnagar. Maharashtra police said the deceased was heading back home after work on Sunday evening when the mishap occurred. The tragedy took place near Late Balasaheb Thackeray flyover in Bhiwandi locality in Thane.

Sanjay was returning home from work on a two-wheeler on Sunday evening when the manja (string of kite) got entangled in his neck. The string was so sharp that it slit the throat of Sanjay killing him on the spot, a police official said. Sanjay's body was moved to the government hospital for a post-mortem examination.

Killer 'manja' threads taking lives of strangers often unaware of the kite flier. Significantly, accidents related to kite flying on the festival of Makar Sankranti are reported every year and is directly linked to the craze for flying kites. Kite flyers switching to nylon kites or imported manja threads and home-made manja instead of traditional cotton threads pose grave dangers to others.

Until a few years ago, simple, cotton string was used to fly kites. However, as this string breaks and in view of the kite flying competitions, the use of nylon strings or manja threads is on the rise to keep the kites intact and to cut the opponents' kites. There is a ban for use of 'manja' in certain states including Tamil Nadu.