Police opened fire on Hemanth, the accused in the Raptadu school attack case, after he tried to escape from custody during a scene recreation conducted as part of the investigation. Officers fired six rounds to stop him. He was seriously injured and was immediately admitted to a nearby hospital, where he is undergoing treatment under medical supervision.
The case relates to an attack on Gopika, a 15-year-old Class 10 student at the ZP High School in Ayyavaripalli, Raptadu mandal. According to police, Hemanth, a relative of the girl (her paternal uncle by relation), entered her classroom in the morning armed with an electric saw and attacked her in front of other students. Gopika suffered deep injuries to her head, face and back.
Another student, Lakshmi, who bravely tried to intervene, sustained serious injuries to both legs. As the students raised an alarm, the accused left the saw at the scene and fled. Gopika, who was bleeding heavily, was first taken to a hospital in Anantapur and later shifted to a private hospital in Bengaluru for advanced treatment.
Police later received information that Hemanth was hiding in the Atmakur forest area and took him into custody. He was then taken to the crime scene for the scene recreation, during which he attempted to escape, leading to the police firing. The incident has caused widespread shock in Raptadu and the surrounding areas.