Cuttack kite manja mishap: Police raid shops in city, trader detained

Cuttack: A day after a man died as his throat was slit with glass-coated kite string (manja) here, police today raided multiple shops in the city over alleged sale of the banned substance.

The raids were conducted by different police stations of Cuttack UPD against possession or sale of banned Chinese manza as well as illegal kit flyers.

A total of 480 kite spools or runner (Natei), 672 kites and 21 bundles of Chinese manza were seized during the raid.

Four cases have been registered against four shopkeepers and kite flyers.

Cuttack DCP Prateek Singh said stringent action will be taken against the traders involved in manufacturing and selling manja. A special drive has been launched for this purpose.

The Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) has formed a special enforcement team to conduct inspection regarding use and sale of manja in the city.

A trader of Jagatpur area has been detained by the police for interrogation, reports said.

Notably, one Jayant Samal (31) was killed after his throat got slit with manja in Jagatpur area while he was travelling on a motorcycle with his wife, yesterday.

Jayant got entangled in the manja attached to a kite being flown by a minor boy near Peer Bazaar at around 4.45 pm. He fell off the two-wheeler after sustaining injuries on his neck, eyewitnesses said.

He was rescued by locals in a bleeding state and rushed to the Sadguru Hospital in Jagatpur, where he breathed his last. His wife escaped unhurt in the incident.

Jayant’s brother-in-law Ramesh Kumar Swain has lodged an FIR with the Jagatpur police. The minor boy was questioned by cops as to why he was flying the kite at a public place using the banned string.

Worth mentioning, acting on the directions of the Orissa High Court, the district administration had in 2016 banned the sale and use of manja.