Amid reports of deaths by throat slitting due to Chinese manjha, 188 people have been arrested in Punjab for selling Chinese nylon kite strings coated with powdered glass.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Inspector General of Police (IGP) headquarters Sukhchain Singh Gill said 176 first information reports (FIRs) have been registered for selling the fatal kite flying string which has led to several accidents in the recent past besides causing injuries to wildlife.

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Gill said the Punjab Police have taken strict action against sellers trading in Chinese Kite string and recovered as many as 10,269 Chinese dor (strong) bundles.

“As per the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Punjab Police will take strict action against those buying or selling Chinese kite flying strings,” he added.

Earlier on 8 January, the police had issued an advisory banning the manufacture, sale and use of Chinese kite flying string in the state. The Chinese kite string is a non-biodegradable product. It does not decompose and sustains in the environment for a long time,” the DGP tweeted.

The advisory said people involved in selling of the Chinese kite string will be punished under rule 144 of CrPC Act 1973. Hence, parents should not allow their wards to use it for kite flying and make them aware of its outcome.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Police have arrested 258 drug smugglers after registering 194 FIRs, including 31 commercial under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act across the state in the last week.

Gill said the police have also recovered 41.26-kilogram (kg) heroin, 13.55-kg opium, 53.25 kg ganja, 4.81 quintals of poppy husk, and 5.28 lakh tablets, capsules, injections and vials of Pharma opioids besides Rs 20.48 lakh drug money from their possession. The IGP said with the arrest of 15 more proclaimed offenders (POs) in NDPS cases in the last week, the total number of arrests rose to 623 since the special drive to arrest POs was started on 5 July.