Andhra youth, who attacked schoolgirl with chainsaw, shot at while trying to escape police custody The accused, Hemanth alias Dummu, was picked up by a special party of the police in Atmakur forest area of the district in the evening.
Updated on: Nov 1, 2026, 21:44:05 IST By HT News Desk Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link The 21-year-old man, who brutally attacked a 15-year-old Class 10 girl with a chainsaw at Zilla Parishad High School at Rapthadu in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district on Saturday, was shot at by the police on Sunday night, people familiar with the matter said.
Police personnel stand beside a vehicle after arresting Maoists from Eluru and New Auto Nagar in Gannavaram, Vijayawada. (PTI) An official from Anantapur police headquarters told HT that the accused, Hemanth alias Dummu, was picked up by a special party of the police in Atmakur forest area of the district in the evening.
“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.
Several police personnel sustained injuries in the attack, when they tried to overpower him,” he said.
As the situation escalated, the police opened fire on Hemanth in self-defence to prevent his escape and bring him under control.
“The police fired six rounds at him, leaving him seriously injured,” he said, adding that he was shifted to a hospital for treatment.
His condition was stated to be serious.
Visuals of Hemanth being carried to the hospital in a semi-conscious state have gone viral on social media.
Meanwhile, state education and IT minister Nara Lokesh said the condition of the girl, who is undergoing treatment at Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru continues to be grim.
Andhra Pradesh Education and IT Minister Nara Lokesh spoke with doctors at Bengaluru's Manipal Hospital to review the health condition and ongoing treatment of the Class 10 student critically injured in the chainsaw attack at a school in Rapthadu.
“The next 48 hours will be critical,” Lokesh told reporters, after visiting the victim in the hospital at Bengaluru and consoling her family members.
He appealed to people across Andhra Pradesh to pray for the girl's recovery.
The incident occurred at around 10.30 AM when Hemanth entered the school premises carrying a chainsaw and attacked the student.
Another girl, who tried to stop him from the attack also received injuries.
The victim was initially shifted to Anantapur government general hospital, where doctors worked for nearly eight hours to stabilise her condition.
The doctor at the hospital told reporters that the girl’s right hand was deeply cut at the shoulder, exposing the joint and her face was badly mutilated, which required multiple surgeries.
Lokesh said doctors at the Manipal Hospital immediately initiated treatment and performed surgery lasting nearly 12 hours before shifting her to the ICU.
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.
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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