Hubballi-Dharwad Police Crackdown On Manja Sale And Use, File 11 Cases

The crackdown follows the death of a 38-year-old woman and injury to another person due to Manja on Thursday.

The special operation against the sale and use of manja led to cases against nine sellers, one person accused of supplying it to a child and two people who allegedly used it to fly kites in a way that posed a risk to the public, according to a press release issued by the Hubballi-Dharwad city police on Friday.

The cases were registered across nine police station limits in Hubballi and Dharwad under Section 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Police seized 21 reels of red, green and blue manja, along with five empty reels, from a computer service centre near a mosque in Bengeri’s Venkatesh Colony. The material was valued at Rs 2,100. In another raid, 12 reels worth Rs 1,000 were seized from a shop near Koogu Basappa Katte on Sai Nagar Road.

Cases were also registered against sellers at a shop in Ballari Galli, a toy shop on Hattikal Road and outlets in Jannat Nagar in Dharwad. Police also booked people allegedly selling manja and kites on public roads near Indi Pump Circle and the New Anand Nagar bus stand in Hubballi, behind the Sindhoor Lakshman statue in Ramalingeswara Nagar, and at a grocery shop near Bhusappa Chowk in Dharwad.

Hubballi Town police booked a man for allegedly providing manja to his minor son, who was flying a kite near Metro Mall in Maratha Galli. Kasabapet police also registered a case against two people accused of flying kites with banned manja in Gausia Nagar in Old Hubballi in a manner that caused inconvenience to the public.