Four dead in Gujarat due to kite string injuries
Ahmedabad, Jan 14: Four persons including a four-year-old boy died after their throats were slit by 'manja' or kite string during Uttarayan celebrations in Gujarat on Tuesday, police said.
A death each was reported in Rajkot, Panchmahal, Mehsana and Surendranagar districts while numerous cases of injury were reported across the state, officials said.
Kunal Parmar (4) bled to death in Halol town of Panchmahal district after his neck was slit by kite string, said an official of the local police station.
He was riding with his father on motorcycle to buy kites and balloons from the market when a piece of string wrapped around his neck and caused a deep gash.
"He was rushed to hospital but died during treatment," the official said.
Mansaji Thakor (35), a farmer, died in Vadnagar taluka of Mehsana district. "He was riding to his farm at his village Vadbar on motorcycle when his neck was slit by kite string. He was taken to hospital but died during treatment," a Vadnagar police station official said.
An unidentified man, riding a motorcycle, was similarly killed on the outskirts of Rajkot city.
Ishwar Thakor (35) died in Patdi taluka of Surendranagar district after suffering deep cuts in the neck due to kite string while riding a motorcycle, police said.
GVK EMRI, which operates 108 ambulance service in the state, reported a rise in emergency cases on Uttarayan compared to the last year. As of 6 pm, the number of emergency calls received was 3,707, against 3,362 on the same day in 2024, a GVK EMRI official said.
These included numerous cases of injuries due to kite string and fall from rooftop while flying kites.
Manja made from nylon or coated with crushed glass is sharp enough to cause fatal injuries. Despite being banned, it is used by kite enthusiasts who find them effective for cutting an opponents' kite.
On Monday, the state government had informed the Gujarat High Court in response to a petition that a total of 609 First Information Reports were registered and 612 individuals arrested for alleged manufacture, sale and stocking of nylon string (`Chinese manja') and glass coated string in the run-up to Uttarayan.
A notification dated December 24, 2024, imposed a complete ban on these items, but they still found their way into the hands of kite enthusiasts.
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HC quashes criminal proceedings against Kannada actress Ragini Dwivedi in drugs abuse case
Bengaluru, Jan 14: The Karnataka High Court has quashed the criminal proceedings against Kannada actress Ragini Dwivedi in a drug case, saying the prosecution could not substantiate the charges with material evidence.
The bench of Justice Hemant Chandanagoudar also quashed the proceedings against the co-accused Prashant Ranka.
It said, "However, to substantiate the charges against the petitioners, the prosecution has not produced any material evidence to prove that the petitioners organized parties or sold drugs, apart from the voluntary statements of the co-accused and chargesheet witnesses."
"Therefore, the continuation of the criminal proceedings against the petitioners will be an abuse of the legal process of law,” Justice Chandanagoudar observed.
Ragini was among the many celebrities from the Kannada film industry arrested in September 2020.
A case was registered against her at the Cottonpet police station based on a statement by a co-accused B K Ravishankar on September 4, 2020.
