Two Class 10 girls were injured after a 21-year-old man allegedly entered their classroom and attacked them with a power saw at a government school in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district on Saturday morning. One of the students is in critical condition.
The incident occurred at around 10.30 am at Zilla Parishad High School in Raptadu village, while a lesson was in progress and a teacher was present in the classroom. The attack caused panic among students and school staff.
The injured girls were taken to the Government General Hospital in Anantapur for emergency treatment. One of them is undergoing critical surgery and is likely to be shifted to a hospital in Bengaluru by air ambulance.
Police identified the accused as Hemanth, also known as Dummu. He allegedly escaped from the school after the assault but was later arrested at Dharmavaram railway station.
Hemanth is reportedly from Nagalur village in Dharmavaram mandal of Sri Sathya Sai district and is said to be a distant relative of one of the injured girls. Police are investigating the sequence of events and the motive behind the attack.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock and anger over the incident and said he was personally monitoring the recovery of the critically injured student. He said he had instructed the medical team to provide her with the highest priority care and directed the police to ensure the accused received the harshest legal punishment.
In a post on X, Naidu described the assault on a Class 10 student inside her classroom at Raptadu ZP High School as barbaric and said those who target girls inside schools had no place in society.
Education Minister Nara Lokesh also condemned the incident, calling it an inhuman attack in a place intended for learning and safety. He said the Chief Minister had ordered swift and stringent action and stressed that the safety and dignity of every girl and woman were paramount.
YSR Congress Party president and former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy criticised the state government, alleging that law and order had collapsed under the TDP-led coalition. In a post on X, he referred to the incident as a “barbaric chainsaw attack” and questioned how an assailant was able to enter a government school and attack a student inside a classroom.
Reddy also said another student was injured while trying to intervene. He alleged that the government’s focus on political vendetta had enabled criminals to act without fear of the law.
He called for immediate medical care for both injured students, a transparent investigation, an urgent review of school safety protocols across Andhra Pradesh and accountability from Naidu and Lokesh.
Follow us
