2 children dead, 2 hurt due to manja injuries

A three-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy have lost their lives after stray metal-coated kite strings (manja) got entangled in their necks in two separate incidents in Delhi. The incidents, along with several others, have prompted the Delhi government to ban nylon, plastic and Chinese manja and any other sharp kite-flying thread.

According to the police, the girl, Saanchi Goyal, was returning home with her parents after watching a movie in Naraina when the incident occurred. As they reached Rani Bagh road around 7pm, the girl expressed a desire to see outside from the roof window of the car they were travelling in when her neck got stuck in a manja. The parents took the girl to a nearby hospital, but she was declared brought dead. The police is trying to ascertain whether the manja, which took the life of the girl, was the banned Chinese one. A case of negligence has been registered at the Rani Bagh police station and further investigation is underway.

“A case has been registered under Section 304(A)-causing death by negligence. We are yet to determine whether it was the Chinese manja that took the girl’s life,” said Vijay Singh, DCP (northwest).

The other kid, identified as Harry, died in a similar incident when a kite string grazed his neck and inflicted fatal injury on him while he was looking out of a car in west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar area Monday evening. The child, accompanied by his parents and a six-year-old sister, was returning home at around 8pm when the incident took place on the flyover near Janakpuri District Centre. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where the doctors declared him dead, said a senior police officer. A case under Section 304 A has been registered.

In another incident, a sub-inspector with the Delhi police was injured after manja got entangled around his neck. Manoj Kumar, posted at the Anand Vihar police station, was out on patrol on his bike when his neck got entangled in a kite string. He is currently undergoing treatment. In Ghaziabad, Aryan, 7, has been reported to have received 24 stitches on his neck after a stray kite string got entangled in his neck while travelling with his father on a motorcycle.