Vadodara police begin probe into death of food delivery agent by ‘sharp kite string’

Officials of Kapurai police station have begun an investigation to probe if the string was from among the prohibited Chinese or glass-laced kite string varieties. According to officials of Kapurai police station, a post-mortem was conducted and the body was handed over to his family. Rathwa is survived by his wife and two children, including a four-year-old daughter and a four-month-old son.

On Monday, a 30-year-old man, Hasim Shaikh, also suffered kite string injuries on his neck while passing in the Karelibaug area on the Swaminarayan temple road. Shaikh was rushed to SSG hospital, where he is currently undergoing treatment.

SSG hospital had earlier issued an advisory in December, warning two-wheeler riders to “exercise caution” as injuries from kite strings were being reported to the hospital’s emergency ward “earlier than usual”.

The Vadodara city Commissioner of Police had issued a notification prohibiting Chinese kite strings as well as hot air lanterns during the upcoming festivities.

PI SD Ratada of Special Operations Group (SOG), Vadodara city, said that while the SOG had booked an FIR and confiscated 1,000 hot air lanterns so far, police have been conducting raids to crack down on Chinese kite strings.

Ratada, however, added that permitted kite strings could also cause fatal injuries.

“Once a person is injured due to a kite string, passersby usually first focus on sending the person to a hospital, and the kite strings are usually not recovered. So, it is difficult to ascertain if they were injuries caused by Chinese kite strings. Having said that, even the permitted kite strings that are not coated with glass are sharp and can cause injuries to people if the two-wheeler is being driven at a high speed. It depends on the impact during the entanglement. The best way to go is to exercise caution with speed and use guards.”