Andhra girl injured in chainsaw attack in classroom remains critical

Amaravati: The condition of a Class 10 girl student injured in the chainsaw attack by her relative at a school in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district on Saturday remained critical, doctors said.

According to doctors, the next 48 hours will be crucial for the victim undergoing treatment at a hospital in Bengaluru.

Andhra Pradesh Education and IT Minister Nara Lokesh on Sunday visited Bengaluru and spoke with doctors at Manipal Hospital to review the health condition of the girl and ongoing treatment.

The girl was injured in the attack at Zilla Parishad High School in Rapthadu in Anantapur district.

The accused, who was later identified as Hemanth, is a close relative of the victim. He is reported to be still at large.

According to an official release here, Lokesh said the incident occurred around 10 a.m. when an individual entered the school premises carrying a chainsaw and attacked the student. Upon receiving information, he immediately alerted the police and district health authorities.

The girl was initially shifted to a government hospital, where doctors worked for nearly eight hours to stabilise her condition. Once she was fit to be transferred, she was moved to Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru. Doctors immediately initiated treatment and performed surgery lasting nearly 12 hours before shifting her to the ICU.

Lokesh said the next 48 hours would be critical and appealed to people across Andhra Pradesh to pray for the girl's recovery. Calling her "our daughter", he said she needed everyone's support and prayers during this difficult time.

Assuring the family of complete government support, Lokesh said the incident was extremely unfortunate and should not be politicised. He emphasised that ensuring the girl's healthcare, continued treatment and subsequent rehabilitation was both the collective responsibility of the government and his personal responsibility. He acknowledged that the incident had highlighted the need to further strengthen existing safety systems and processes.

Stating that the government was taking the matter very seriously and would not shy away from its responsibility, Lokesh assured that stronger preventive measures would be put in place to ensure that such incidents never recur in Andhra Pradesh.

Issuing a stern warning against harassment and indecent behaviour towards women, Lokesh said anyone making inappropriate remarks or behaving indecently towards women in Andhra Pradesh would face severe consequences. He assured that strict action would be taken against everyone responsible for the Rapthadu school attack and that nobody involved would be spared.

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