AP: Man runs amok at school, kills 10-year-old

SRIKAKULAM: An armed and masked man on Saturday gained entry into a school during the morning prayers and slit the throat of a class five girl. The unidentified man, who entered the Mandal Parishad Primary School in Narasannapeta town, chased the students with a knife and killed Swati (10) of Narasannapet. Another class 1 student G Sravani (5) sustained severe injuries in the ensuing stampede.According to reports, the masked man, wearing black and red clothes, entered the school through the unguarded gates while the teaching staff were assembling the students, numbering around 42, for the morning prayers. The man then whipped out a knife and started chasing the people present in the compound. The scared students and teachers ran helter-skelter. However, the man caught hold of Swati and slit her throat. She died on the spot. “Amid the chaos, the students and teachers shouted for help from the public but by the time people rushed to the spot, the man had escaped by jumping the school compound wall,” the district education officer S Dharma Raju told Express.  People who spotted the heavily injured Sravani, rushed her to the nearest hospital where the doctors referred her to Rajiv Institute of Medical Sciences at Srikakulam for further treatment.  “Based on the information provided by the school staff, we have alerted all police stations and put a special team into action. The investigation is on but no one has been taken into custody so far,” superintendent of police KVV Gopala Rao told Express.  But according to sources, police, on suspicion, have taken a man into custody and the interrogation is on. However, Gopala Rao denied the reports.  Meanwhile, the district administration has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 15,000 to the deceased’s parents Ramu and Laxmi, who are daily labours.