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Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Bike rider sustains severe neck injury after kite string accident in Delhi
New Delhi: A 30-year-old bike rider sustained severe neck injury after coming into contact with a kite string while travelling from Sarita Vihar to Faridabad. The incident took place near Tughlakabad Metro Station on the Badarpur flyover, leaving the victim in critical condition. The injured man, identified as Rajneesh from Akhibelpur village in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, was immediately rushed to AIIMS Trauma Centre for treatment. Police received a report around 4:40 PM about a man bleeding heavily on the flyover. Upon arrival, officers found Rajneesh with a deep neck wound caused by a sharp kite string, locally known as "manjha." Eyewitnesses said Rajneesh narrowly avoided falling off his bike and tried to stem the bleeding using his towel. You Can Also Check: Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi | Gold Rates Today in Delhi | Silver Rates Today in Delhi Police recovered the red kite thread from the scene and handed it over to the forensic team for analysis, to determine whether it was Chinese thread or not. On June 27, a youth on a scooter was killed in north Delhi when his throat was slit by a Chinese manjha. Police filed an FIR, but the kite flier is yet to be identified. The accident took place on Rani Jhansi Road in the Bara Hindu Rao area. The deceased was identified as 22-year-old Yash Goswami, a spare parts business owner. He lived with his family in Karawal Nagar in northwest Delhi. In another incident, a two-wheeler rider sustained facial injuries after being struck by a kite string while travelling on the Shastri Park flyover in east Delhi. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Time of India
08-08-2025
- Time of India
Delhi Police issues advisory against Chinese manjha ahead of Independence Day
New Delhi: As kite flying gains momentum ahead of the Independence Day, Delhi Police has issued an advisory against the use of banned Chinese manjha and urged people—particularly two-wheeler riders—to stay vigilant and take safety precautions. The advisory, released by the west district police on the social media platform X, recommends two-wheeler users to install aluminum safety frames on their vehicles to prevent injuries from manjha (kite string). In an accompanying video, police demonstrated how these curved metal frames help deflect the thread, allowing it to glide off the vehicle without causing harm. Authorities reiterated that the sale, storage, and use of synthetic or metal powder-coated kite string is a punishable offense. Residents have also been advised to avoid flying kites near power lines, busy roads, highways, and restricted airspace. Importantly, public has been warned against attempting to remove kites entangled in power lines, as the metallic threads can conduct electricity and cause fatal shocks. You Can Also Check: Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi Despite an official citywide ban, the use of Chinese manjha continues to rise during the kite flying season. As previously reported by TOI, black market sellers have found ways to evade law enforcement—using code words, encrypted chats, and WhatsApp groups to coordinate sales. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Top Public Speaking Course for Children Planet Spark Book Now Undo by Taboola by Taboola Deliveries are allegedly made at pre-arranged locations after buyers are vetted to ensure they are not undercover police officers. Police have already seized over 1,500 reels this season alone. Sellers also reportedly conduct reconnaissance before making a drop. Each reel of banned manjha—priced between Rs 700 and Rs 2,000—can cause severe and even fatal injuries. In June, a 22-year-old scooter rider, Yash Goswami, a businessman, was killed on Rani Jhansi Road in north Delhi after his throat was slit by a Chinese manjha. In another incident, a two-wheeler rider sustained facial injuries after being struck by a kite string while traveling on the Shastri Park flyover in east Delhi. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Indian Express
19-07-2025
- Indian Express
Silent killer on the loose: The menace of Chinese manjha
It's a humid July afternoon. In Southeast Delhi's Sangam Vihar, a 14-year-old has just come back from school. The scrawny teenager quickly changes into brown shorts and a black T-shirt and heads out again. He has to buy a packet of toned milk from a grocery store in the Sangam Vihar market, a small cluster of shops across the road from the main Wazirabad market. But the milk is only part of the errand. The boy, his friends claim, is the contact in the area to get the infamous 'Chinese manjha (kite string)'. 'Kam se kam 200 ka loge? (Will you buy at least Rs 200 worth of manjha?)' — he's often heard asking prospective customers. Once assured the buyer is serious, the boy gestures for them to follow him inside the market. En route is a shabby one-room kite shop, with children queuing up outside. But he passes by without a glance. 'Yahan kuch nai milega. Abhi (police) raid ka season hai. (You won't find anything here. This is the season of raids),' he says, referring to a recent raid by the Delhi Police Crime Branch in Wazirabad on July 5. After passing through a narrow alley, the boy reaches a small medical shop. He steps up and murmurs into the ear of an 18-year-old youth sitting at the counter. 'Rs 220 ek reel manjhe ke liye. Ek dum dhaardaar hai, Bareilly se laya hai mere chacha ka ladka. Bolo toh mangwaunga (Rs 220 for one reel of manja. It's very sharp. My cousin got it from Bareilly. Say the word and I will bring it),' the boy at the counter says. Despite being banned in Delhi, the sale of Chinese manjha continues. The string, made of nylon, is coated with crushed pieces of glass, giving it razor-sharp edges that easily cut through other kite strings in the air — but it is capable of doing far worse on the ground. In recent years, it has been linked to multiple deaths and injuries, particularly among two-wheeler riders whose necks get caught in stray strings hanging across roads. This year, it has already led to the death of one person and injured another. On June 27, Yash Goswami (22) died after his throat was slit by a Chinese manjha on Rani Jhansi flyover in North Delhi. The Karawal Nagar resident was on his way home at the time. 'Goswami suffered a deep cut on his neck, causing him to collapse on the spot. He was rushed to the hospital by passersby, where he was declared dead on arrival,' a police officer had said. In another incident on July 2, the string did not take the life of Axis Bank employee Prakash but slashed his face while he was passing by the Shastri Park flyover on his bike, police had said. Chinese manjha, according to the police and shopkeepers, is primarily produced in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. It is called 'Chinese' not because of its origin, but because it is synthetic, unlike traditional Indian Manjha or 'Sadda', which are made from natural cotton threads. In January 2017, the Delhi government moved a notification banning manjha made of nylon and plastic and ones made of cotton coated with glass or metal (popularly known as 'Bareilly ka manjha'). In 2017, the National Green Tribunal had ordered a total ban on manjha made of nylon or any synthetic material. Like every year, the Delhi Police has started its crackdown on the supply of Chinese manjha. With the kite-flying season approaching ahead of Independence Day, the Crime Branch has already seized over 1,200 rolls of the banned thread from three locations in the city. The first seizure was done at Central Delhi's Kamla Market on June 26. Running the illegal manjha operation here was Areeb Khan (22) a former textile store worker. 'He had 248 rolls of banned string and was caught near Kamla Market. Areeb used to work at a clothing store but moved to kite-string selling for more profit,' DCP (Crime) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav had said. The second operation happened in West Delhi's Uttam Nagar on June 27. 2. Raju Chaurasia (51) was arrested in the case. The third operation took place in Sangam Vihar, Wazirabad on July 5. The raid led to the arrest of Danish Khan (28) and the recovery of 56 rolls of manjha. He used to make kites but started selling manjha to earn more money, police had said. In all, 1,226 rolls of Chinese manjha have been found, and police registered three FIRs against the people involved. On Friday itself, brothers Samir (22) and Shakir (18) were arrested from a jhuggi cluster at Nand Nagri with 325 reels of the banned Chinese manjha. They allegedly told the police that they were stocking up for the Independence Day. Kamla Market in Daryaganj, in the Lal Kuan area, is known as the hub for kite shops. Sitting at his family's kite shop is a 13-year-old bespectacled boy, handling customers as the adults have stepped out. Behind him, kites of all shapes and colours are pinned to the wall. The news of Areeb's arrest has spread like wildfire, with shopkeepers now vehemently denying ever possessing the Chinese Manjha. 'Chinese manjha ab nahi milta yaha. Jo bechte the unko bhi pakad liya police ne (Chinese manjha is not available here, the police have caught those who sold them),' says the boy. 'Par uski takkar ka mil jaayega (But you can get something of the same quality at the main shop),' he adds. He goes down a damp lane and, after about 250 m, enters a house with a green curtain serving as its entrance. Inside is a room with high-ceiling, with kites all around. Sitting on the floor, on a ragged, torn maroon carpet, are two teenage boys and an elderly man clad in a white kurta pyjama — all sewing kites. The man owns the kite shop. The 13-year-old asks the man, who is holding a purple kite in his hand, for manjha. The man shouts, 'Indian reel le aa ek (Bring a reel of cotton manjha).' Hearing him, the other two boys, a couple of years older than their bespectacled peer, rush together inside a storeroom. They come out with a reel of thread. 'Cotton hai, par masala chadha hua hai. Wahi glass wala jo hota hai. (It's a cotton thread, but it's coated with glass),' says the man on being asked if the thread has the same sharpness as the 'Chinese one'. According to police officers, the ban applies both to the nylon thread and its deadly glass coating (Bareilly manjha). 'The nylon threads are sometimes replaced by cotton ones at these shops. But they have options. You can buy a sadda (plain cotton reel) or the glass-coated one (glass-coated cotton reel),' an officer said. 'Hard to make arrests' Though suppliers are often caught in raids, arrests are rare in cases where deaths occur from stray manjha hanging in public spaces. 'It's very difficult to nab someone in these cases. The thread gets cut once it tangles around someone on a road or in any public place. It's difficult to trace the owner of one piece of thread found on a random flyover,' a police officer says. No arrests have been made in the two cases from this year, police say. On August 19 in 2023, Sandeep (40) was taking his seven-year-old daughter on an early morning drive on his black motorcycle to Bhaira Enclave in West Delhi's Paschim Vihar. His daughter was sitting in front. He was about to take a turn when his daughter screamed. 'I quickly stopped and got her down — and saw the manjha wrapped around her neck. She was bleeding,' Sandeep had told police at that time. The girl died on her way to the hospital. No one has been arrested till now, a senior police officer says. In August 2019, Manav Sharma (28) had his throat slit by the manjha in Paschim Vihar of Outer Delhi. He was on the way home on a scooter with his sisters after celebrating Raksha Bandhan. No arrest was made in this case either, the officer adds. Monika (26), the younger sister of Manav, was sitting behind him on the scooter, when his throat was slit. 'The scooter has been parked for the last six years in front of our building. No one in our family touched it,' Monika says. The death of Manav, who was the sole breadwinner for a family of five – including his parents and his two sisters – devastated the family. 'We were returning after celebrating Raksha Bandhan. My cousins had come from Punjab. Manav was riding the scooter, and I and my sister were riding pillion. He suddenly stopped and we saw blood gushing from his throat,' Monika says. Monika is now the sole breadwinner of the family of three – her father had died in 2023. 'I work for a private firm… Since he (Manav) left us, I haven't been able to ride a two-wheeler. Every year, I hear about manjhas causing deaths. I don't know about the ban, but how come such a thing that can kill people this easily is still available in the market,' she asks. As Independence Day nears, raids on manjha godowns are expected to be stepped up, senior police officers said. 'Most suppliers get stock 48 hours before August 14, when the demand is at peak. They look to quickly sell and finish off the stock before they can be caught,' an officer added.
Time of India
04-07-2025
- Time of India
Biker injured as kite string slashes face
New Delhi: In the second incident within a week, a two-wheeler rider was injured after his face came in contact with a kite string on Shastri Park flyover in east Delhi on Wednesday evening. The biker, identified as 29-year-old Prakash, lives with his family in Sant Nagar in north Delhi's Burari. Prakash, who works in the loan department of a private bank in Krishna Nagar, was returning home after work when the incident happened. He was taken to a nearby hospital by a passerby. Though he suffered grievous facial injuries and required multiple stitches, he escaped life-threatening harm and was later discharged and taken home by his family. You Can Also Check: Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi Just last week, 22-year-old Yash Goswami also died after coming in contact with a Chinese manjha on Rani Jhansi Road in Bara Hindu Rao area. In Aug last year, two people, including a cop, sustained severe neck injuries due to Chinese manjha in Yamuna Vihar. In a similar accident on the same Shastri Park flyover in August 2022, a 35-year-old motorcyclist died after his throat was slit by kite string. In July 2023, a 7-year-old girl died after coming into contact with kite string while riding on the front seat of her father's motorcycle in Paschim Vihar West. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like An engineer reveals: One simple trick to get internet without a subscription Techno Mag Learn More Undo The production, sale and use of the deadly string, often called Chinese manjha, is banned in the capital. Despite the ban, the string continues to take lives. The strings, a synthetic kite string coated with glass, metal, and other abrasive materials, are extremely dangerous to birds, animals and individuals who may accidentally come into contact with them, often suffering serious cuts that can prove fatal.
India Today
29-06-2025
- India Today
Delhi biker dies on spot after Chinese manjha string slashes throat
A 22-year-old man died on the spot in Delhi after a banned kite string, locally known as Chinese manjha, got entangled around his neck while he was riding his two-wheeler, slitting his throat within manjha is a synthetic kite string coated with abrasive materials and is considered dangerous, as it has been behind many accidents in incident took place on the Rani Jhansi flyover in Delhi's Bara Hindu Rao area on Friday. Following the accident, the victim, identified as Yash Goswami, was rushed to the nearby Hindu Rao Hospital where he was declared dead on A case against unknown persons has been registered against unknown persons for causing death by negligence under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya an initial probe, the police recovered strands of Chinese manjha from the victim's a similar incident, a 21-year-old man died after his throat was slashed by a Chinese manjha while riding a bike in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. The incident took place in January this victim, Suhail, was returning from work when he became entangled in the kite string, which was stretched across the road, tied between two trees. As a result, Suhail's bike toppled, and the string inflicted a severe injury, cutting through more than half of his friend, Nawazish, who was riding pillion, also sustained injuries, with the string slicing his nose. Both were rushed to a hospital where Suhail succumbed to his Ends
