Brave Andhra Teen Calls Police After Being Pushed Off Bridge, Rescued

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The girl called the police while hanging from a plastic pipe.

A 13-year-old girl in Andhra Pradesh showed remarkable presence of mind by calling the police while hanging from a plastic pipe after being pushed off a bridge. The incident took place in Konaseema district, situated between the tributaries of the Godavari River in coastal Andhra Pradesh, early on Sunday. In a tweet, the local police identified the girl as Puppala Lakshmi Sai Keerthana. The girl was pushed off the bridge by Suresh, her mother's live-in partner, but she saved herself from falling into the river by calling the police number 100.

#Dial 100-#APPolice saves a girl hanging from flyover at midnight: Today at 3:50 AM, a man resident of Tadepalli pushed a girl, her mother&sister from Ravulapalem Gautami Bridge. The girl dialed 100 to save her by holding onto the plastic pipe of the bridge(1/3) pic.twitter.com/Zlni29pqis

— Andhra Pradesh Police (@APPOLICE100) August 6, 2023

The Andhra Pradesh Police said that the girl made the call at around 3.50am. "A man, resident of Tadepalli, pushed the girl, her mother and sister from Ravulapalem Gautami Bridge. With the information received, Ravulapalem PS cops reached the location within 10 min," their tweet said.

The girl was found hanging from the pipe in a very "dangerous situation", the police added.

After knowing about the incident from the girl, they formed two teams - one to look for her mother and sister and the other one to catch the accused.

Suresh, about to turn 30, belongs to Prakasam district and met the girl's mother Suhasini three years ago while working at an eatery. The police said that he is the father of one of Suhasini's children.

As per the girl's statement, Suresh picked up the family from Vijayawada between 8.30-9pm on Saturday in a hired car that he was driving himself.

They had tea at 2am and drove around for some time. Suresh stopped the car at the bridge and pushed the girl and her family off the bridge at 3.40am, the police said.

"The water flow below was very fast and deep. We are still searching for Suhasini and the baby. The 13-year-old girl managed to dial 100 using a mobile she had in her pocket while holding on to the plastic pipe. Our teams rushed and brought her up," Ravulapalem Circle Inspector Rajini Kumar told NDTV.

The teenager was lucky as Suresh did not notice that she managed to stop her own fall by holding on to the pipe, at a height of 50 metres from the river.