CHENNAI: In yet another incident that throws focus on the dangers of kite-flying using manja thread, a police couple were injured on Sunday night, when they were headed to work. M Jayakumar, a traffic police inspector, and his wife J Maheswari, a police head constable, were riding on a motorbike on the Padi flyover when a manja thread slit Jayakumar’s neck.
Maheswari, who was riding pillion, also suffered injuries as Jayakumar lost control of the bike, and the couple fell off the vehicle. Recalling the incident, Maheshwari, said, “The bike skidded as my husband lost balance and both of us fell on the road. It took a while for us to understand what had happened and I found my husband bleeding from his neck when I tried to lift him.” The couple was rushed to a nearby hospital and then shifted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for treatment.
Jayakumar received stitches in his neck and was unable to speak, while Maheshwari sustained bruises in the fall. Villivakkam police registered a case and a hunt has been launched for the kite flyers. Meanwhile, Villivakkam law and order inspector S Rajeesh Babu was transferred to the control room on Monday for not being able to curb kite-flying incidents in his jurisdiction.
Though there has been a ban on kite flying in the city, incidents of people getting injured because of manja thread continue to get reported. City police had recently started monitoring kite flyers using binoculars from high-rise buildings. Jayakumar has been serving as a traffic constable in Vepery and his wife Maheshwari, a head constable, is attached to the Central Crime Branch.