LAHORE: Harbanspura station house officer was suspended from service on Sunday as a mandied allegedly after the string of a stray kite slit his throat on Canal Road.

As per police, Manzoor, 51, a retired army officer belonging to Nankana district, was on a motorcycle when the razor-sharp string of stray kite got entangled in his neck near Jallo Mor underpass on the Canal Road.

As a result, the injured motorcyclist lost his balance and fell onto the road, getting further wounded. He was taken to Combined Military Hospital (CMH), where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment.

Police shifted the body to the morgue and registered a case against unidentified persons.

Kite-flying has been banned in Punjab after a number of casualties caused by chemical-coated string. Any violation is punishable with imprisonment and fine, or both, under the law. However, people still resort to the banned sport in various areas of the city flouting the curb.

Taking notice of the incident, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ghulam Mehmood Dogar sought a report from Cantonment Division superintendent of police (SP) and directed him to charge sheet the Harbanspura SHO.

The CCPO appealed to the parents to keep a check on their children and don’t let them fly kites so that such incidents could be averted.

Meanwhile, police’s operations wing Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sajid Kiyani suspended Harbanspura SHO from service for failing to check the banned activity in his jurisdiction.

Two days ago, a prisons department official, Nauman, had also suffered critical injuries because of a stray kite’s string on the Jail Road.

The CCPO’s spokesperson, Rana Arif, said around 1,900 cases had been registered over violation of kite flying Act in different police stations of the city during the current year. As many as 1,969 persons were arrested and 37,500 kites, 3,042 string rolls and around 7,000 other items related to kite making were also recovered, he added.

Chief Minister Usman Buzdar also took notice of the incident and expressed his grief over it, seeking a report from the CCPO. He also ordered a probe into the incident to fix responsibility for failure to implement the ban on kite flying. He offered condolences to the bereaved family.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2021