Two persons, including two-year-old child, injured by manja thread in Vyasarpadi

Two-year-old injured by manja thread while riding bike in Vyasarpadi, leading to police crackdown on offenders.

A two-year-old child was reportedly injured after a thread of manja cut his neck when he was riding on a bike in Vyasarpadi.

Manja is made from a pure cotton thread coated in a natural mixture of rice glue, tree gum, and an abrasive, such as powdered glass. The City Police Commissioner has time and again promulgated an order prohibiting the use, sale, and manufacture of manja thread in the city.

The police said Balamurugan of Muthamizh Nagar in Kodungaiyur was riding his bike with his wife Gousalya riding pillion. Their son Pugazhvelan was sitting on the bike’s fuel tank. When they were going from Vyasarpadi to Basin Bridge on Sunday evening, the child’s neck became entangled in a snapped manja thread. Though Mr. Balamurugan quickly stopped the vehicle and removed the thread, it had already cut the boy, and he was bleeding. The boy was rushed to a private hospital, where he was treated with seven sutures.

The police said another person named Jilani was also injured by a manja thread in the Vyasarpadi area. He was treated at a hospital. Based on the complaints, the Vyasarpadi police registered a case and investigated.

After scrutinising closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage, the police apprehended 10 persons, including a few students, who were using the manja thread to fly kites. Seven of them were arrested and remanded in judicial custody. The three others, who are juveniles, will be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board. Over 100 kites, manja thread, and other materials were seized from them. Further investigation is on.