Representative image showing kite 'manja'.
Credit: iStock Photo
Bidar: A bike rider died on the spot after his throat was slit by a sharp manja string of a kite at Talamadagi village, Chitaguppa taluk, in Bidar district on Wednesday.
The deceased has been identified as Sanjukumar Gundappa Hosamani (48), who was travelling to Humnabad to bring home his daughter studying in a residential school for Sankranti holiday.
Eyewitnesses said the victim suddenly fell from his bike and died of heavy bleeding after coming into contact with the string.
The deceased is survived by his wife, son and three daughters.
Manja, a sharp, glass-coated thread commonly used to cut a rival kite's string, is banned in Karnataka.
Tahsildars in the district had issued orders against the use of manja thread ahead of the festival season.
The thread has caused numerous deaths and left many injured across the country.
Cut-off box - Two deaths in Telangana UP The banned manja thread claimed one life each in Telangana and UP on Wednesday. In both cases the victims were riding motorbikes when their neck came in contact with the deadly kite string. While the victim in Telangana was a farm labourer hailing from UP the victim in the UP incident was a physiotherapist.