Special drive against manja continues; five more cases booked

The special drive against use of manja launched by the Hubballi Dharwad Police Commissionerate continued on Saturday with more cases being booked taking the total number of cases booked to 16.

A day after a 38-year old woman was killed after manja (abrasive kite string) slit her throat in Hubballi, the Police Commissionerate had launched the special drive on Friday.

According to the Hubballi Dharwad Police Commissioner, during the special drive, 124 places were inspected and 69 locations where manja was being used were checked. The police had so far removed dangerously hanging manja strings at 63 locations and checked 67 shops where manja was being reportedly sold.

While 11 cases including those against sellers, users, and also a parent for allowing a kid to use the abrasive string to fly kite were booked on Friday, five more cases were booked in Bendigeri, Old Hubballi, APMC Navanagar, and Kasabapet police stations on Saturday.

On Thursday, lab technician Vidya Manjunath Goudar was killed after the abrasive kite string got entangled around her neck, slitting her throat, while she was riding a two-wheeler. The incident led to backlash and various leaders, including Pralhad Joshi, Basavaraj Horatti, Prasad Abbayya and others, calling for strict action against the sale and use of manja.