The accused, identified as Hemanth alias Dummu, was arrested by a special police team in the Atmakur forest area of the district on Sunday evening, an official at the Anantapur police headquarters told Hindustan Times.
He was being taken to Rapthadu for a crime scene reconstruction when he allegedly tried to flee and hurled stones at the police personnel escorting him, injuring several of them.
“When the police were bringing him to Rapthadu to reconstruct the scene of the offence he had committed at the school, he tried to escape and started hurling stones at the police personnel. Several police personnel sustained injuries in the attack, when they tried to overpower him,” the official told the newspaper.
Police opened fire in self-defence, firing six rounds and leaving the accused seriously injured, the official said. Hemanth was subsequently taken to a hospital for treatment.
The 21-year-old had allegedly attacked two girls inside a school classroom with a chainsaw on Saturday, reportedly after harassing one of the victims in the name of ‘love’ for some time.
According to media reports, Hemanth was the victim's maternal uncle and had allegedly been stalking her and had proposed to her in the past.
He reportedly entered the classroom with a chainsaw at around 10.30 am on Saturday and attacked the two girls while a teacher was present and lessons were underway. One of the victims sustained critical injuries.
The accused hails from Nagaluru village in Sri Sathya Sai district and had been staying with his elder sister at Ayyavaripalle village, Anantapur Rural Sub-Divisional Police Officer K Ashwin Manideep told Hindustan Times.
The injured girl was initially admitted to Anantapur Government General Hospital, where she underwent surgery, state Health Minister Y Satya Kumar was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
However, as her condition deteriorated, she was shifted to a super-speciality hospital in Bengaluru in a special ambulance for advanced medical treatment.