A 25-year-old delivery executive bled to death after his throat was slit by Chinese manjha, while riding his motorcycle on NH-9 in Ghaziabad, police said. They added that the biker’s friend, who was riding pillion, managed to control the bike and escape unhurt.
Police identified the victim as Ravi Raj, who hailed from Rampur and lived in Bahrampur, Sector 63. Raj worked as a delivery agent with an online food delivery firm.
Despite a ban on the manufacture, storage, and sale of Chinese kite string (manjha) — synthetic, glass-coated kite-flying string—its illegal trade continues, leading to life-threatening road accidents.
‘Chinese manjha’ slits throat
Police said that around 2pm on Saturday, Raj and his 32-year-old friend Naresh, who works at a water plant and lives in Noida Sector 63, left Khoda in Ghaziabad to deliver food in the area.
“Raj was riding his Hero Splendor bike and Naresh was in the back seat. As they neared the UP Gate, manjha (kite string) suddenly slit Raj’s neck, leaving a deep cut,” said Ajay Kumar Sharma, station house officer, Kaushambi police station.
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{{/usCountry}}The SHO said, “It was a ‘Chinese manjha’ and Raj was not wearing a helmet at the time. The kite string entangled around his neck and he suffered heavy blood loss on the spot.”
As the manjha hit Ravi’s neck, Naresh grabbed the bike handle from behind, pulled over and escaped without injury, police said.
Local cops crack down
Locals alerted the police and placed a cloth around Raj’s neck to stop the bleeding. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.
Police have not yet found any nearby person involved, and no case has been registered. An alleged video of the incident went viral online, showing a man lying unconscious on the motorcycle’s tank with blood spilled around.
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Dhawal Jaiswal, DCP of Trans-Hindon & City, said: “We are checking all the kite shops across the district to take action against those selling Chinese manjha.” In the past three weeks, police have arrested six people for selling banned “Chinese manjha” in Loni and Indirapuram, and seized 622 manjha rolls.
In November 2022, a police constable was severely injured after manjha slit his throat while riding a bike in Ghaziabad’s Vijay Nagar.