LAHORE - A 35-year-old motorcyclist died when the metallic string of a stray kite slit open his throat near Mughalpura Flyover, police and rescue workers said on Sunday.
Kite flying had been banned across the Punjab province since the sport turned deadly with people using strings coated with metal or glass to try to cut down kites of other players.
An eyewitness said the victim died on the spot because of excessive bleeding. The latest incident took place on a busy road early Sunday.
The deceased was identified by police as Amir Ali, a local resident. Amir riding on a motorcycle was on his way home when the metallic twine of a stray kite slit open his throat. The victim fell on the road and died within minutes. The police reached the spot soon after the incident and shifted the body to a hospital.
Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar took strong notice of the horrific death and ordered the Lahore CCPO to send back a report of the incident. The chief minister also warned that strict action would be taken against the concerned officials if they failed to control kite flying in their jurisdiction.
Soon after the Chief Minister’s notice, Lahore DIG (Operations) Ashfaq Khan suspended the concerned station house officer and ordered the police to fully investigate the incident. A police spokesman claimed that the DIG suspended the Mughalpura Station House Officer over negligence in controlling kite flying. He said that the police also registered a criminal case against unidentified persons and were investigating the death.
Several people including a few children have died this year in kite-flying related accidents in the provincial metropolis notwithstanding the ban on the sale and manufacturing of kite string. Most of the deaths were reported by police on the weekend.
A large number of people often defy the ban on kite-flying especially on the weekend in Lahore. The police crackdowns on violators have failed to end the deadly sport in the city. The government had completely banned kite-flying in the province under the Punjab Prohibition of Kite Flying Act of 2009, after shocking deaths and injuries caused by kite string, which is often laced with powdered glass.
Early this month, a six-year-old girl was killed when a kite string slit her throat near Shahdara. The deceased was named as Masooma, a resident of Shahdara. The father of girl was taking her home on a bike when they had the tragedy near Imamia Colony Phatak. A 25-year-old man died after the string of a stray kite slit his throat open in the Sanda police precincts on October 20. Usman Khalid riding on Honda-125 motorcycle was going towards a nearby market when the glass-coated string of a stray kite slit his throat. The victim fell on the road and died instantly due to excessive bleeding.
