India, Jan. 14 -- At least four deaths related to nylon kite string have rattled India on the day of Makar Sankranti. At a time when different parts of the country celebrate the traditional beginning of the end of the the winter season, colourful kites dot the skies but come with deadly consequences.

At the nub of this menace is the deadly kite string made of nylon - much widely referred to as 'Chinese manjha' as it was imported from China at least in its early years in the Indian market - that gives an edge in cutting rivals' kite strings. It can also slice through flesh and muscle, even almost decapitating people.

In Indore, a 45-year-old man, Raghubir Dhakad, profusely bled to death after his throat was slit by the nylon string that'...