The death of a motorcyclist on Kalyani Expressway after his throat was slashed by a kite string on Wednesday prompted a police crackdown against illegal sale and possession of synthetic manja (kite strings).
Barrackpore police conducted raids across pockets of North 24-Parganas on Wednesday and arrested 12 people who were either selling or using synthetic kite strings.
Goutam Ghosh, an army veteran who was riding to his workplace on a bike on Wednesday afternoon, had his throat slit by a kite string and died in a hospital from excessive blood loss.
The police said the kite string slit the biker’s throat and flung him off the two-wheeler.
Ghosh, a resident of Barrackpore, worked as a security person at the Calcutta airport, and was on his way to report for duty on Wednesday when the accident happened. He was taken to Bandipur Sub-divisional Hospital, where he was declared dead.
Officers of Barrackpore Police Commissionerate conducted raids in places under their jurisdiction, like Khardah, Titagarh, Mohanpur and New Barrackpore.
“Multiple raids were carried out across the jurisdiction of Barrackpore Police Commissionerate against the use of synthetic or Chinese manja. In all, 12 people were arrested during the raids,” said a senior officer of Barrackpore Police Commissionerate.
Cases have been documented under provisions relating to the deliberate disregard of lawful directives issued by public servants, resulting in negligence potentially jeopardizing human safety, as well as under the regulations stipulated by the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986.
The police seized several spools of banned kite strings.
The use of Chinese manja, a term used for kite strings that are plastered with chemicals, glass powder and glue and can slice through a human body, is banned.
Multiple accidents have been reported on the Parama flyover in the past, prompting the government to install barriers on a large stretch of the flyover to prevent kite strings from floating across and causing accidents.