A 17-year-old girl survived an attempted rape by two youths in a forested area of Kuppam mandal on Sunday evening but suffered knife wounds to her neck and legs. The incident came to light on Tuesday.
The girl, who tends to goats in the forest near her village of Dollagutta ST Colony in Kuppam mandal, had left with her herd on Sunday morning but did not return even after dusk. When her worried elder sister went in search of her, she heard shrieks from a thicket. When the sister went to check, two youths rushed out of the bushes and escaped. They had inflicted knife injuries on the girl.
Taken to the hospital at Kuppam, the injured girl told police that she was returning home when the youths threatened her with knives and dragged her into a thicket. As it had become dark, the girl’s sister could not identify the assailants. Based on a complaint by the victim's family, Kuppam police tried to nab two suspects, but found that they had left for Mumbai two days prior to the incident.
