Kite string slits 3-year-old's throat in Delhi, second incident in a week

The injured boy’s family said the brothers had left home on Wednesday to buy snacks from a nearby store. Police said an FIR has not been registered yet.

A three-year-old boy was injured after a loose kite string got entangled around his neck while he was riding pillion with his 17-year-old brother on a two-wheeler on Wednesday in northeast Delhi's Maujpur area, police said on Thursday.

A child carries a kite across a market in the old quarters of Delhi on August 11, 2026. (AFP)

This is the second such incident in a week. On August 5, a 32-year-old businessman was seriously injured after a loose kite string slit his throat in Delhi’s Uttam Nagar area. The victim was riding home on a bike after work when he was injured.

Police said an FIR has not been registered yet in the latest incident.

A senior police officer said, “The family is yet to give us a complaint. We will file a case as soon as we record the child’s statement. We received information about the incident from locals and we are in the process of taking necessary action.”

His 17-year-old brother said, “I did not even see the kite string. I just heard my brother’s screams and turned around to see him injured. Thankfully, I was going slow or else the string would have completely slit his throat. I stopped the vehicle and somehow managed to remove the string. He was bleeding from the neck wound and I rushed him home. Later, we took him to a nearby clinic for medical care. He’s fine now but extremely shaken up.”

The family said they will file a complaint once the child is feeling better.

According to Delhi Police data, two deaths and 12 injuries have been reported in incidents involving Chinese manjha this year. Last year, Delhi Police reported one death and more than 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 had been made in the case.