Tirupati: Two youth held for attacking schoolgirl

Tirupati: In a shocking incident, a school girl who is a minor was attacked by two youth while she was returning from the school at Elamanda village of Yerravaripalem mandal in Tirupati district on Monday evening.

A love affair was suspected to be the reason behind the attack on the girl. The two youth who came on a scooter waylaid the girl heading home after the school, forcefully took her to a distance and attacked her. They also allegedly forced the girl to drink water mixed with an intoxicant leading to the girl falling unconscious.

The youth abandoned her at a bush after she fell unconscious.

The parents who came searching for her when she failed to return home after school, found her in the bush. They took her to Piler hospital and later to government Maternity Hospital in Tirupati.

In the meantime, the attack on the girl triggered social media reports alleging that the girl was brutally raped by the youth. A section of the media also alleged that the two youth forcibly took her into the bushes where they sexually assaulted her and later fled away leaving her unconscious.

However the police stoutly denied rape and said that the girl fell unconscious due to shock and also the effect of intoxicant mixed in the water.

Tirupati district SP L Subbarayudu said the medical reports also indicated that the girl was not raped. The doctors at the Maternity Hospital in Tirupati where she was admitted late evening examined her and the girl is under treatment at the hospital.

The SP also warned of action against a section of the media and also over social media reports for spreading false information that the girl was gang-raped by two youth.

He also found fault with the leaders trying to visit the girl who is a minor under treatment in the hospital and for falsely claiming that the girl was raped.

The two youth who attacked the girl were arrested and inquiry is going on. He appealed to the people not to get carried away by unofficial reports of rape of the girl and added that the facts behind the attack on the girl and alleged rape will come out after the completion of the investigation and also detailed medical examination of the girl.

However, the YSRCP leaders brushed aside the police denying rape. The leaders including former minister R K Roja, Tirupati MP Gurumurthy, Tirupati ex-MLA and ex-TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy and Tirupati assembly constituency in-charge Bhumana Abhinay Reddy in voice said the girl was raped by the two youth but due to pressure from the police the parents were forced to deny the rape of their daughter.

They also alleged that police were under heavy pressure and trying to hush up the unfortunate incident of rape of the school girl who is a minor.

The series of rapes in Tirupati district clearly revealed that there is no security for women and girls in the state under NDA rule, they said.

Ex Minister R K Roja said while Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan who flared up during the YSRCP regime on woman safety is now remaining silent. If he has any shai are shame he should open up his mouth and take responsibility for the sad incidents of rape of woman, instead of pressurising the police.

She also alleged that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and education minister Lokesh pressurising the district police to deny the rape of the girl and giving false version.

The ruling party leaders including Chandragiri MLA Pulivathi Nani, Sudha Reddy and others criticised the YSRCP leaders for politicising the incident. The TDP leaders said though the parents and police denied the rape, the YSRCP leaders were spreading false news alleging rape.

Meanwhile, security was increased at the Government Maternity hospital where the girl was undergoing treatment. A tense situation prevailed following the police trying to stop YSRCP leaders who came one after another to visit the girl.