The 21-year-old man accused of attacking a 15-year-old Class 10 student with a chainsaw at Zilla Parishad High School in Rapthadu, Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district, was shot at by police on Sunday night while allegedly attempting to escape custody, officials said.
His condition was reported to be serious. He was being taken to Rapthadu for a reconstruction of the crime scene when he allegedly tried to flee and hurled stones at the police personnel escorting him. “When the police were bringing him to Raptadu to reconstruct the scene of the offence he had committed at the school, he tried to escape and started hurling stones at the police personnel. The police then opened fire in self-defence to prevent his escape and bring him under control.
Several police personnel sustained injuries in the attack, when they tried to overpower him,” the official said. “The police fired six rounds at him, leaving him seriously injured,” the official said, adding that he was taken to a hospital for treatment. Assuring the family of full government support, Lokesh described the incident as extremely unfortunate and said it should not be politicised.
The accused, identified as Hemanth alias Dummu, was arrested by a special police team in the Atmakur forest area of the district on Sunday evening, an official at the Anantapur police headquarters told HT.
Lokesh visited the hospital, met the girl’s family and spoke to doctors to review her condition and the treatment being provided.
“The next 48 hours will be critical,” he told reporters, appealing to people across the state to pray for her recovery.
