Kite Manjha Leaves Delhi Biker Injured Fir Lodged

A 32-year-old businessman was seriously injured after a stray kite string got entangled around his neck while he was riding a motorcycle in Delhi’s Uttam Nagar area last week. Police on Monday said an FIR has been registered against unknown persons.

The victim, identified as Dhiraj Kumar Ojha, a resident of Vikas Nagar, suffered a deep cut on his neck and is undergoing treatment at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital. According to police, the incident took place around 7 pm on August 5 when Ojha was travelling from Uttam Nagar to Mundka for work.

Kushal Pal Singh, DCP (Dwarka) said, “He reached the Nala Road near Shiv Vihar when a kite string got stuck on the left side of his neck. He lost his balance on the vehicle and suffered an incised wound.”

The DCP said the victim told them that an unknown person had flown a kite with dangerous manjha in a rash and negligent manner.

“On the basis of the PCR call, MLC and statement of the victim, an FIR under sections of act endangering life, causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means and disobedience to public order was registered,” said the DCP.

Ojha’s father, Purushottam Ojha, said his son runs the family business and had left for work. “He suffered a five-centimetre-long and one-centimetre-deep cut on his neck. Doctors told us that if the wound had been just one centimetre deeper, Dheeraj would have been in a very critical condition,” he said.

The use of Chinese manjha is prohibited under various environmental and public safety laws, however, cases involving the dangerous string tend to increase around Independence Day.

According to Delhi Police’s data, two deaths and 10 injuries have been reported due to Chinese manjha this year.Last year, the Delhi Police reported one death and over 15 injury cases.

In May, a five-year-old boy died after his neck was slit by Chinese manjha while he was travelling with his family on a motorcycle in northeast Delhi’s Usmanpur area. He was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries. HT found that no arrests were made in the case.

Last year, on August 15, a 30-year-old bike rider sustained severe neck injury while travelling from Sarita Vihar to Faridabad.

In June last year, a 22-year-old man died after his throat was slit by a Chinese manjha while he was riding his scooter near Bara Hindu Rao Hospital in north Delhi. He suffered a deep cut on his neck and collapsed on the spot.

On August 6 last year, a 30-year-old woman riding a scooter was severely injured after getting caught in Chinese manja near the Krishna Kunj flyover in Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar.

The Delhi Police confirmed that no direct arrests or detentions have been made in most of these cases. Officials in different districts said arrests are difficult in such cases as it often not possible to establish who flew the kite or sold the manjha.

Senior Delhi Police officers said they have intensified action against production and sale of manjha in and around Delhi. “Last week, four men were held with 372 cones of banned manjha and two men were held with 87 rolls of manjha. On August 5, a man was held from Chander Vihar with over 300 rolls of Chinese manjha,” said a senior police officer.

The Delhi Fire Services reported that this year, a total of 1,548 birds had to be rescued after calls were received of them being stuck or injured due to manjha.

Jignasa Sinha is a Special Correspondent at Hindustan Times in New Delhi. With more than six years of reporting experience, she covers crime and policing in the national capital. Her beats also include Delhi prisons, the Delhi Fire Services and Delhi courts, while she regularly reports on gender, labour and social justice. Over the course of her career, Jignasa has reported on major criminal investigations, international crime syndicates, high-profile cyber fraud cases, law-and-order developments, protests, disasters and public institutions. Her reporting combines breaking news with in-depth, long form, human interest stories that examine the human impact of public policy, policing and the criminal justice system. In addition to reporting for the newspaper, she contributes to the Hindustan Times website and app, and plays an active role in coordinating on-ground coverage of major developments and breaking news across Delhi. Before joining Hindustan Times, Jignasa worked at The Indian Express newspaper in New Delhi, where she spent five years covering crime, Delhi airport, courts and health. She began her journalism career as an intern at an AI magazine in Bengaluru while pursuing her postgraduate diploma in multimedia journalism at the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media.Read More