‘Chinese manjha’ turns kite-flying season deadly, claims at least 4 lives in a day: Nylon string a killer across India

At least four deaths related to nylon kite string have rattled India on the day of Makar Sankranti. At a time when different parts of the country celebrate the traditional beginning of the end of the the winter season, colourful kites dot the skies but come with deadly consequences.

At the nub of this menace is the deadly kite string made of nylon — much widely referred to as ‘Chinese manjha’ as it was imported from China at least in its early years in the Indian market — that gives an edge in cutting rivals' kite strings. It can also slice through flesh and muscle, even almost decapitating people.

In Indore, a 45-year-old man, Raghubir Dhakad, profusely bled to death after his throat was slit by the nylon string that's sold widely despite being banned. He was on a bike.

Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur saw at least two deaths on Wednesday. Less than an hour after a teacher died in the city due to a cut in the neck caused by the manjha, a stray piece of the kite string killed a young man riding a bike, Live Hindustan reported from Jaunpur.

Southwards, the killer string struck the neck of a 48-year-old man in Karnataka's Bidar, news agency PTI reported. Identified as Sanjukumar Hosamani, the man was riding his motorcycle and heading to Humnabad to bring his daughter home from hostel for the Sankranti, when the kite string caused a deep cut around his neck. Hosamani bled heavily, trying to call his daughter before he breathed his last before an ambulance could arrive.

Foreseeing the risks that the nylon kite string poses, the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh high court on Monday took serious note of the matter, stressing on the fact that the kites, although often flown by children, should be supervised by parents.

The bench comprising justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi directed the state government to impose a complete ban on the Chinese manjha, adding that if a minor is found flying a kite using the banned string, his guardians can be held legally responsible, news agency PTI reported.

The court added that those selling or using the kite string even after the ban can invite action under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for causing death by negligence. The bench had taken suo motu notice of deaths and accidents caused by the string earlier in 2025.

Huge quantities of the deadly kite string were seized by police officials across states over the past year. The Gurugram police in Haryana in June 2025 arrested four people for selling this kite string, after activists alleged that they were being sold openly in areas such as Sadar Bazar and Patel Road, HT reported.

About a month later, in July, the Delhi police seized more than 1,200 rolls of banned Chinese manjha in just one week, and arrested at least three men from different parts of the national capital ahead of Independence Day and Raksha Bandhan celebrations, PTI reported.

In January 2025, Punjab police had seized around 81,000 bundles of Chinese manjha and registered at least 90 first information reports (FIRs).