Raptadu school attack leaves parents in state of panic
Despite swift and proactive measures by the Education Department and police in providing counselling to students of the ZPHS and the immediate arrest of the accused, several parents are still apprehensive about their wards’ safety at the school where Class 10 girl was attacked with a chainsaw on October 31, writes P Hareesh
A flexi installed by the family members of Gopika, who was injured in a chainsaw attack by a youngster in her classroom, demanding stringent action against the accused, outside the Zilla Parishad High School at Raptadu in Anantapur district.
“It all happened in seconds. It was not just shocking; it was terrifying. We ran out of the classroom as he [the accused] attacked our classmate with a chainsaw. There were cries of fear and panic,” recalls 16-year-old B. Sudershan, a Class X Section A student at Zilla Parishad High School (ZPHS), Anantapur district’s Raptadu, who witnessed the brutal attack on M. Gopika on October 31.
The accused, Hemanth, 20, armed with an electric chainsaw, arrived at the ZPHS, went straight to Gopika’s classroom, and attacked her in the face and hands, causing grievous injuries. While all the other students ran for safety, Gopika’s friend Lakshmi was the only one who mustered courage and tried saving her.
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