Raptadu, 31 October

Two schoolgirls were injured here in Anantapur district on Saturday after a man barged into their classroom with a chainsaw and attacked them, police said.

Both students were injured but one of them was stable, police said, adding the accused was on the run. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu promised stringent action.

Anantapur Rural sub-divisional police officer K Ashwin Manideep said the attacker was allegedly a relative of one of the girls.

"The girl is in hospital with her parents," Manideep told PTI, confirming the chainsaw attack. Police were gathering further information regarding the incident.

He said police teams have been dispatched to nab the attacker.

CM Naidu said he was "deeply shaken and enraged by the barbaric attack on a Class 10 student inside her classroom at Raptadu ZP (Zilla Parishad) High School."

"Attackers who target our young girls inside schools have no place in our society. I am personally tracking her recovery and have directed the medical team to give her the highest priority care," he said in a post on X.

"I have ordered the police to hunt down the monster responsible and deliver the harshest legal punishment swiftly," the CM added.