At least two people have been killed in separate incidents in India after their throats were slashed by kite strings during the ongoing kite-flying season.
In the latest case, 48-year-old motorcyclist Sanjukumar Hosamani died in the southern Indian state of Karnataka after riding into a taut kite string stretched across a road.
The string caused a deep cut to his neck, leaving him bleeding heavily on the roadside near Talamadagi Bridge in Bidar district.
Hosamani collapsed from his bike but managed to dial his daughter’s number before losing consciousness.
A passerby attempted to stop the bleeding while an ambulance was called, but by the time it arrived, he had died.
His relatives later accused authorities of a fatal delay in emergency response.
The second fatality occurred in Indore, where 45-year-old Raghuveer Dhakad, a tile contractor, died after a kite string slit his throat while he was returning home from work.
He was rushed to hospital but could not be saved. Police said the injury was caused by a banned nylon kite string.
Motorcyclist Sanjukumar Hosamani (pictured) died in the southern Indian state of Karnataka after riding into a taut kite string stretched across a road near Talamadagi Bridge in Bidar district.
Kite enthusiasts fly kites during the International Kite Festival in Ahmedabad, India, January 13, 2026
A large number of people crowded patang (kite) markets on the eve of the two-day kite-flying festival in Ahmedabad’s Old City
Relatives and local residents in both locations staged protests, demanding action over the incidents and improvements in emergency response services.
Several serious but non-fatal injuries have also been reported in recent days.
In Indore, 18-year-old Narendra Jamod suffered a severe neck injury on Sapna-Sangeeta Road and required emergency surgery after being struck by a kite string
In another incident near Indore Airport, Ashish Raghuvanshi sustained a deep cut to his neck and remains under hospital treatment.
Elsewhere in Madhya Pradesh, a nine-year-old boy in Chhindwara required 43 stitches after suffering a serious ear injury while playing outside his home.
In Ujjain, a student returning from an exam had his throat cut and needed 10 stitches, while another young motorcyclist was also injured when a string wrapped around his neck.
The killer kite string has struck again, this time in Karnataka. A 48-year-old motorcyclist has died after a kite string left him critically injured.
Flying kites is common during festivals such as Makar Sankranti and Uttarayan in many parts of India – where revellers compete to cut down other kites with kite string in a kind of aerial combat.
Pictured: Families stand on rooftops as they fly kites in the city of Ahmedabad in 2023
But this can be deadly for spectators and competitors, as the cord is reinforced with metal and sometimes glass powder, making it sharp enough to slice through human skin or even electric wires.
In recent years, nylon kite strings – often referred to locally as Chinese manjha – have increasingly replaced traditional cotton strings and are banned in several states because of the injuries they can cause.
In 2023, six people, including three children died after their throats were sliced open by kite strings durig the Uttarayan festival in the western state of Gujarat.
A further 200 revellers were injured while they were flying kites during mid-air duels.
The six victims, including two girls aged two and three as well as a seven-year-old boy, died after the razor sharp cords used by ‘kite fighters’ became entangled around their necks and slit their throats.
Kirti, a two-year-old girl, was riding on a bike with her father in the city of Bhavnagar when a kite string wrapped around her neck and sliced her throat. The toddler died in hospital, an official told NDTV.
In another horrific incident, Kismat, aged three, was walking home with her mother in the city of Visnagar when her throat was sliced.
Seven-year-old Rishabh Verma was also killed in front of his parents after a kite string cut his throat in the city of Rajkot.
Police said that three men – Swamiji Yadav, 35, Narendra Vaghela, 20, and Ashwin Gadhvi – were also killed in the districts of Vadodara, Kutch and Gandhinagar in Gujarat by kite strings.
Kite-fighting contests, which featured in Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, are notorious for causing death and serious injury in India.
In 2016, two children were killed during the kite festival in Gujarat.
Alok Goel, whose three-year-old daughter Saanchi was one of the two children killed in 2016, said she died within minutes.
Saanchi had been with her mother Neha when a kite string came hurtling towards her from the sky.
Mr Goel said at the time: ‘The line wrapped around her throat. Before she could say anything, she started bleeding profusely and died within minutes.’
