Lokesh vows stringent action after chainsaw attack on Class X student in Raptadu

HRD and IT Minister Nara Lokesh has warned of stringent action against anyone harassing or misbehaving with women, asserting that attacks such as the one on a Class X student in Raptadu on Saturday would not be allowed to recur.

Mr. Lokesh visited Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru on Sunday to meet Gopika, the student who was attacked with a chainsaw by a youth while she was in her classroom at Raptadu Zilla Parishad High School. He spoke to the doctors to review her condition and the treatment being provided to her.

Recounting the sequence of events, Mr. Lokesh told the media that the attack took place around 10 a.m. when the youth entered the school premises carrying a chainsaw and assaulted the girl. “On receiving information, I immediately alerted the police and district health authorities. She was initially shifted to a government hospital, where doctors worked for nearly eight hours to stabilise her condition. Once she was fit to be shifted, she was moved to Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru,” he said.