'Encounter the beast': Anger boils in Andhra village after chainsaw attack on 2 girls

TIRUPATI: A multidisciplinary team of doctors at Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru successfully performed a series of complex orthopaedic and plastic surgeries over 12 hours to stabilise and revive Mudaga Gopika (15), a Class X student. She was critically injured in a chainsaw attack allegedly carried out by a jilted youth inside her classroom at a Zilla Parishad government school in Raptadu, Anantapur district, on Saturday.

Andhra Pradesh HRD minister Nara Lokesh, who visited the hospital and enquired with the doctors about Gopika’s health condition, confirmed to reporters that she was shifted to the Intensive care unit, where her recovery will be continuously monitored round the clock by a multi-disciplinary team of specialised doctors as the next 48 hours will be crucial in her recovery. Explaining that the state govt stands in complete solidarity with Gopika and her family, he asserted that justice will also be promptly delivered in this case.

“The accused has switched off his mobile phones and remains untraceable. However, the police dept has intensified their manhunt and the accused involved in the attack on Gopika will soon be arrested”, the minister added. Explaining that Child safety remains a top priority of the govt, the HRD minister explained the govt’s plans to soon create a robust mechanism after holding consultations with all the stakeholders concerned.

“And as the students at the school are under severe trauma having witnessed the incident, counselling has been arranged for them to come out of the incident. Counselling session will continue for the next one year and teachers and parents will also be brought into the ambit of counselling”, he added.

Meanwhile, family members of Gopika and locals at Ayyavari Palle near Raptadu, have sought the police dept and the govt to act swiftly in the case and nab the accused identified as Hemanth (21) at the earliest. A few family members and locals have also sought the police to encounter the beast responsible for the barbaric attack on two innocent minor girls including Gopika and her friend Lakshmi.