Published : 14 November 2026
Read Time : 5 min
Author: Mahesh Yadav
The top safety car you are buying with a perfect 5-star safety rating and a beautiful sunroof could instead kill your child. And it is not an exaggeration. They have killed very young children in 2016 and they continue to do so in 2026.

Delhi, 2016: A 3-year old girl, while travelling in a car and peeking out of the sunroof dies as a stray chinese kite string laced with glass tangles around her neck. She takes her last breath in her mother’s lap and is declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
Delhi, 2016: Same day, a 4-year old boy suffers the same fate as another manjha injures him badly. He makes it to the hospital but succumbs to his severe injuries.
Jaipur, 2026: A 6-year old boy from Mumbai, visiting his maternal family during Sankranti wishes to get a little closer to and see the flying kites. He too dies from a deep cut caused by a stray manjha.
Many more children have lost their lives between 2016 and 2026 and in this last decade sunroofs have become more and more popular among car buyers. And yet, I don’t see car manufacturers or dealerships educating their customers about the dangers of using sunroof. And how you could use it safely.
So, we are stepping in and to educate the car buyers and car owners.
The chinese kite strings made of strong nylon, laced with glass or sharp metal pieces also affects 2 wheeler riders. The sale, purchase, production, storage and use of nylon kite strings and strings containing glass or metallic particles is outlawed across the country. And yet, people continue to use them for flying kites. The stray strings float down, get tangled up in trees, buildings and poles and become a deadly trap waiting for their next kill while remaining barely visible.
While I don’t see an easy way to help motorcyclists avoid deaths or injury from such a trap, there is a way to avoid dying from kite string traps if you have a car.
If you track the manjha deaths of people travelling in car, there is an obvious pattern there. The deaths occurred because of the dangerous kite strings, but also because someone was poking their head out of the sunroof instead of sitting down in the seat and buckling up.
It is as simple as that. Don’t poke your head out of the sunroof while the car is moving. I’m sure many of you would know this and would call it common sense. But we live in a country where constant reminders and challans haven’t stopped people from riding without a helmet.
We can forget about enforcement against an act that isn’t even written down. Not only is there no law against getting out through the sunroof in a moving vehicle for some fresh air, there’s no education either. The car makers are happy to offer sunroof in lower variants of their cars. And, I don’t know of anyone in my circle who bought a car and was informed about the dangers of the sunroof. Why would they? Not informing gets you to spend more on a variant with a power window in the roof. They are chasing profits, after all.
For about a couple of years, I have known about the deaths of children because of the kite strings. Carrying on and ignoring the issue is neither helping the people suffering the ultimate loss nor helping me. My conscience continues to haunt me when I find out someone else has died or gotten injured because of the lack of awareness about safe usage of a sunroof. It is difficult to go on knowing that as a member of the media, I could have done something about it. And with your help in spreading the word, perhaps we could have saved a life.
Finally, this Children’s Day, I am doing something about it. And I have something to ask of you: please share this article with anyone in your friends and family who owns a car with a sunroof. Let’s make people aware of the tragedies caused by improper use of sunroofs. Share it and sleep easy tonight with the knowledge that you did what you could.
Note: Out of respect for the children who have lost their lives and the parents who are left with a void in their lives, I’m not specific about the accident and their personal details. Nor am I including any links in this article to help you find it more easily. They have suffered more than any parent should have to. The lack of awareness is the problem. So, let’s address it today.
Before you finalise your next car, these V3Cars tools can help you make a more informed decision:
Fuel Cost Calculator for Cars – Know your monthly fuel expense based on usage and mileage
Car On-Road Price Calculator – Convert ex-showroom to on-road price for any city
Sell Used Car Online – Enter your car and contact details to get an instant price estimate and book a free inspection with our partner network
Did you find this information helpful?

Content Head
Mahesh is a fan of compact, quirky and underrated vehicles that punch above their weight. Multix, Nano and Navi are his favourites.

























Comments
0 comments