Hyderabad: The death of Army Naik K. Koteshwar Reddy, caused by stray Chinese manja slitting his throat on his way to report to duty, has spurred the police into action, who have identified over a dozen factories across the country involved in producing and exporting the same to the city.
In a bid to break the supply chain of the banned majna, senior police officials are coordinating with DGPs of other states. A police source said that special teams of police have left for Delhi, Jaipur in Rajasthan, Agra in Uttar Pradesh, Raichur in Karnataka and parts of Haryana to nab those manufacturing the illegal manja.
"Even before the incident, our teams had been conducting raids on shops and seized Chinese manja. This time, we will be dealing with them very sternly. We have warned them not to trade in such destructive material, endangering the lives of people, animals and birds," a police officer said.
While the police managed to seize Chinese manja in raids on retail outlets, kite sellers say it is not of much use.
"Over 75 per cent of the stock was sold to customers three days before Sankranti," said Kishan Lal, a kite shop owner.
He said that the police have been constantly conducting searches at retail kite shops, but the dealers who were aware of the risk sold the manja not from their shops but from their houses or home-delivered it to customers, Kishan Lal said.
"The local bulk dealers, three months ago, transported a large quantity of Mona Fill, Mono Gold, Tuntun Mono Ultra, Mona Ultra and Tun Tun from manufactures in other states," Kishan said.
The police said that their largest raid was on December 26, 2023, when they seized Chinese manja worth Rs 10.15 lakh from the Bajaj Patang Ghar, Gulzar House and A-1 Kite Shop in Kalapather, run by Venu Gopal Bajaj and Mod Shazaib.
Retired defence personnel also chimed in, calling for strict action against the supply chain, given the death of the Naik.
"An Army man lost his life for nothing; his family members have suffered a great loss. I suggest the government take up the matter seriously. Apart from identifying and arresting the manufacturers and suppliers, cases should also booked against transporters. There should be a permanent solution to this," said Raja Vardhan, a retired Army officer.
Members of the Telangana Congress called for a national ban and a judicial inquiry into the death of the Army man.
Kampalli Uday Kanth, vice-chairman, legal cell of the TPCC, said: "Production, sale and supply/ purchase of deadly Chinese manja should be banned in the entire country forever. The government should conduct a judicial inquiry on the death of Naik Koteshwar Reddy. Whoever is involved in this illegal business should be seriously charged."
K. Ravi Kishore, a senior criminal law advocate, said: "The state government should seriously think about imposing non-bailable Acts and IPC sections on the suppliers and mainly, the manufacturers. They should be held responsible for endangering the lives of human and other creatures."
A High Court advocate said that the sections of law applied must be modified, on the lines of treating chain snatching under Section 392 of IPC that pertains to robbery, so offenders do not get bail easily.
