TIRUCHY: A girl studying in standard 11 was stabbed in more than 10 places by a man in broad daylight in Manapparai on Tuesday.
The 16-year-old girl was returning home after giving her exam when the man, identified as Kesavan, stabbed her multiple times with a knife, including on her neck.
Hailing from Atikulam near Manapparai, the girl was studying in 11th Standard in a government-aided school on Dindigul road.
As the man stabbed her near the railway overbridge in the town, the girl fell down in a pool of blood. Passersby immediately rescued and admitted her to a nearby private hospital, where she has been under intensive care.
Police said that 22-year-old Kesavan of Pothamettupatti, the accused, had tried to marry the same girl last year, and was arrested under the POCSO act. He was released from prison recently and did this to exact revenge, said police. They are looking for him, as he escaped after attacking the girl.
Meanwhile, S Jothimani, the MP of Karur, under which Manapparai falls, expressed shock over the incident.
She also spoke with the police SP and demanded immediate action to nab the accused, who was on the run.
She spoke with the hospital doctors and inquired about the girl’s health condition.
Jothimani wrote on Facebook, “We need stringent laws and punishment to deal with such crimes against women. Also, there is a need for changes in primary education itself to change the value system. Society should realize that women are free to make their own decisions and are not subservient to men.”