NOIDA: A 25-year-old delivery agent died after a Chinese manjha slit his throat while he was riding a motorcycle at more than 80 kmph on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway on Saturday.
The string caught Raviraj’s neck near UP Gate and tightened as the motorcycle continued moving, causing a deep cut to his throat. His friend, Naresh, who was riding pillion, managed to take control of the wobbling motorcycle and bring it to a halt, but Raviraj had already suffered fatal injuries.
Raviraj, a Noida resident, was travelling towards Ghazipur in Delhi with Naresh at around 2 pm when the kite string suddenly struck his neck near Media House. As the string cut into his throat, he lost control of the motorcycle. Naresh grabbed the handle from behind and pulled over.
Passersby rushed the injured Raviraj to Max Hospital in Vaishali, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
The incident has renewed concerns over the illegal sale and use of Chinese manjha, a synthetic kite string that is significantly stronger and sharper than ordinary cotton thread. On high-speed roads such as the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, where vehicles routinely travel above 80 kmph, the nearly invisible string can pose a serious threat to motorists and bikers.
ACP Indirapuram Suryabali Maurya said police received a Dial 112 call reporting an injured biker lying on the expressway.
“The bike was being driven by Raviraj himself, and Naresh was seated pillion. When they reached Media House near UP Gate, a kite string struck Raviraj’s neck. The manjha kept cutting his neck. As the bike was at high speed, it wobbled. Naresh grabbed the handle, controlled it and pulled over. But by then, Raviraj’s neck had already been cut,” he said.
The sale and use of Chinese manjha, typically made from nylon or other synthetic materials and often coated with glass or other sharp substances, is banned under court and government orders. The National Green Tribunal has also directed states to enforce a nationwide prohibition on synthetic manjha.
Despite the ban, the illegal trade continues. Over the past three weeks, Ghaziabad Police have arrested six people for allegedly selling the banned string, with most of the accused reportedly sourcing it from Delhi.
On July 29, three people were arrested after police recovered 522 rolls from a house in Indira Market in Loni. On August 12, another raid resulted in three arrests and the recovery of 167 rolls.
DCP Dhawal Jaiswal said police were checking kite shops across the district and areas around the Delhi-Meerut Expressway to determine whether banned manjha was being sold.
In February, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said deaths caused by banned Chinese kite strings should be treated as murder.
The danger posed by the string is not new. In November 2022, CBI officer Gaurav Arora suffered a deep cut to his neck from Chinese manjha while riding a motorcycle in Vijay Nagar. The string severed his jugular vein, but he survived after receiving around 50 stitches.
