According his elder sister Lalita, Santosh was on his way from Malad back to his residence at Shanti Nagar, Mira Road apparently to teach his nephews “how to fly a kite”. The string, coated with manja — powdered glass paste added to coloured dyes — cut into his throat while he was riding a bike on the Western Express Highway.

“All our family members were waiting for Santosh at his house to celebrate Makar Sankranti together. My two children were very excited as he had promised to teach them to fly kites. At around 3 pm, we got a call from Suvarna Hospital, informing us that he had met with an accident,” said Lalita.

Doctor Makrand Damle, the ENT specialist who had operated on Shetty, said, “He was admitted at around 2:30 pm on the day of Makar Sankranti. His voice box is ruptured by the kite string. We have fitted an external pipe to enable him to breathe. Though he can whisper a bit and gesticulate, he is not in a position to speak. We hope that he will be discharged after a week or so.”

When asked whether his voice would be alright, Damle said, “We sure hope that his voice would be normal.”

Dr Bharat Vakil, Medical Director of Suvarna Hospital, said, “During Makar Sankranti, we do get cases of injuries due to kite strings, but those are usually of a cut finger or such minor wounds. This is probably the first time that I have seen a wound of this serious nature. Santosh was lucky that his bike was not speeding, or else he would have been decapitated on the spot.”