Throat slit by nylon manja: cops nab buyers and sellers of the banned string

Two brothers and a shopkeeper were arrested in Mumbai for using and selling banned Chinese kite string following the death of a police officer.

Mumbai: Two days after police constable, Sameer Jadhav, 37, lost his life after his throat was slit by a nylon manja, the Kherwadi police were on the lookout to catch the shopkeepers and users of the banned kite string.

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During their operation, on December 25, they reportedly found two brothers, Manoj and Mahesh Ketkar flying kites near the foot-over bridge in Bandra East around 6.30pm. Both of them were arrested for using the banned Chinese string.

“On closer inspection, we found that the duo was using the banned manja. Considering the gruesome end of a young cop from a similar string just a day before, we decided to take strict action against those found using the nylon manja as well as the shopkeepers who were found to be selling it,” said an official from Kherwadi police.

The police also arrested Ahmed Hussain Jahid Kazi, 66, the shopkeeper who sold the brothers the string.

The accused were booked under section 336 (rash or negligent act that endangers human life or the personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code.

Jadhav, who was with the Dindoshi police, was on his way home to Worli’s BDD chawl on Sunday afternoon when his throat was slit by a nylon manja hanging by the Vakola flyover. The next day, Kherwadi police booked an unknown accused for causing death by negligence (IPC 304 A). The police are trying to look for the shopkeeper who sold the errant nylon manja.

The government had banned the nylon or Chinese manja earlier this year, allowing only cotton strings to fly kites. This was done keeping in mind the dangers of the nylon manja, which usually has glass or metal components, on the lives of birds and humans. In Jadhav’s case, the slit caused by the manja was as bad as a deep slit with a sharp knife.