Raptadu (Andhra Pradesh), Oct 31 (PTI) One of the two Class 10 students injured in a chainsaw attack at a government school in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district has been shifted to a private hospital in Bengaluru for advanced treatment, state Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav said on Saturday.
The attack took place at Raptadu Zilla Parishad High School when a man allegedly entered a classroom and attacked the two girls with a chainsaw, police said.
The minister said the girl who was shifted to Bengaluru had suffered multiple grievous injuries, including the complete severing of her right hand, injuries to her neck and face, several fractures to her skull and ribs, and damage to blood vessels.
“Initial treatment was given at Anantapur Government General Hospital (GGH). We sent her to a hospital in Bengaluru with a team of doctors through a green channel,” Yadav told PTI.
He said the girl was brought to the hospital in a critical condition and doctors had to administer 10 units of blood to control the bleeding.
In a report to the Director of Medical Education, Anantapur GGH superintendent D Malleswari said the girl had suffered polytrauma, hypovolaemic shock, pneumothorax, multiple facial bone fractures and a compound fracture of the proximal humerus.
She also suffered fractures to both scapulae, tendon injuries in her left forearm and multiple lacerations to her scalp, face, neck, back of the shoulder, ear and eyelids, besides a C3 spinous process fracture, the report said.
Yadav said the state government had arranged the transfer after obtaining the parents’ consent. Two ambulances, accompanied by a medical team, were used for the journey, he said.
The minister said the Karnataka chief minister’s office and Bengaluru police had also helped facilitate the transfer by arranging a green corridor and police escort.
Recalling his interaction with the girl before she was shifted, Yadav said he was amazed at her courage, and said she was conscious and responded with a thumbs-up sign when he asked how she was feeling.
He said the government would bear the hospital expenses and asked the girl’s parents not to worry about the cost of treatment.
The second girl, a Dalit, was injured when she tried to intervene and protect her classmate, Yadav said. She suffered cuts to her ankle and a fracture, and is undergoing treatment at a hospital, he added.
The minister said he had recommended her name to the Prime Minister’s Office for a bravery award, citing her attempt to save her friend despite the attack.
Yadav said the alleged attacker, who hails from Naguluru village, had entered the school by accompanying an autorickshaw that was allowed through the gate. The school has a compound wall and a watchman, he said.
The attacker, allegedly an orphan raised by his relatives, was still untraceable till 7 pm on Saturday, the minister said.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said he was “deeply shaken and enraged” by the attack on the Class 10 student inside her classroom.
“I am personally tracking her recovery and have directed the medical team to give her the highest priority care,” Naidu said in a post on X.
"I have ordered the police to hunt down the monster responsible and deliver the harshest legal punishment swiftly," he added.
