A 15-year-old girl, studying in Class 10, sustained serious injuries after a man allegedly attacked her with a chainsaw used for cutting trees inside her classroom at Zilla Parishad High School in Rapthadu mandal headquarters of Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district on Saturday morning.
According to the police, another girl student also sustained injuries while attempting to intervene and save the victim. The incident triggered panic among students and teachers at the school.
What happened
An official from Rapthadu police station said that the accused, whose identity and age have not yet been ascertained, suddenly entered the classroom in the morning hours before the commencement of classes and started attacking the girl on her face, neck and back, even as the fellow students were watching in horror and screaming.
“Another student, who attempted to intervene, was also injured in the incident. The accused fled the spot, leaving the girl in a pool of blood, before the fellow students raised an alarm and school staff reached the classroom,” the police official said.
On receiving the information from the school teachers, the police rushed to the spot and rushed the girl to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment.
“We have registered an attempt-to-murder and launched an investigation. We have launched a search operation to trace and arrest the accused,” the police said.
Doctors at the Anantapur government general hospital performed surgery on the victim and were yet to disclose her condition.
Rapthadu MLA Paritala Sunitha visited the hospital and spoke to the doctors to ascertain the girl’s medical condition.
Shock across the state leadership
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed deep anguish over the brutal attack on the Class 10 girl student at Rapthadu. He spoke to officials to enquire about her condition and the treatment being provided.
In a post on X, Naidu said he had directed the medical team to accord her the highest priority and provide the best possible care.
Condemning the attack in the strongest terms, he said those who target young girls inside schools have no place in society. He directed police officials to swiftly apprehend the accused and take stringent action under the law to ensure severe punishment.
A statement from the CMO said Naidu had spoken to the victim’s mother over the phone and consoled her. He urged her to remain courageous and assured her that the accused would be punished severely.
The chief minister assured the family that the government would extend complete support and that every possible effort would be made to save the student’s life.
The chief minister enquired about the health condition of another student who was also injured in the attack. Her condition is said to be stable.
State home minister Vangalapudi Anitha also expressed deep anguish over the brutal attack on the schoolgirl in Rapthadu. She directed the police and other officials to apprehend the accused at the earliest and ensure that he was awarded stringent punishment.
The home minister spoke to the Anantapur district superintendent of police and sought details about the circumstances surrounding the attack.
Education minister Nara Lokesh strongly condemned the attack and warned that those resorting to such acts would be dealt with an iron hand. He said he was deeply disturbed by the brutality of the attack.
“I am unable to hold back my tears after learning that the young girl was found lying in a pool of blood inside her classroom,” he said, adding that stringent measures would be taken to ensure that women and girls could live without fear.
Bureau Report
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