A journalist got a cut on his neck from a kite thread ( manja ) tied to two poles on either side of Dispensary Road, on Monday night. After hitting the thread, R. Vinoth lost control of his motorcycle and fell on the road. He sustained an injury on his neck.
Vinoth, a journalist with The Hindu , was heading home from work on his motorcycle when the incident occurred. He filed a complaint with the Commercial Street police after getting treated at a private hospital.
In his complaint, Vinoth said that he was wearing a helmet and a scarf around his neck. The accident occurred around 9.50 p.m. The road was deserted. He got up and upon examination, found the thread. He cut the thread to prevent any more accidents and went to a nearby hospital. The hospital staff told Vinoth that they had received two similar cases in the recent past.
"This thread seems to be a means for robbers to trap unsuspecting motorists," Vinoth alleged in his complaint.
The Commercial Street police have taken up a case and are verifying CCTV camera footage from in and around the road to identify the culprits.
Similar case in Tamil Nadu
It may be recalled that in March last year a 41-year-old software engineer, C. Siva Prakasam, was killed when his neck was cut by a kite thread tied across the road. He was riding a motorcycle. The crime occurred in the Chennai bypass. His father was injured in the incident.
