Shimla, April 24 -- Police have arrested a 25-year-old youth for allegedly attacking a Class 10 female student with a stone and injuring her in village adjacent to the Sanjauli area of Shimla on April 21, said a police official on Monday. The accused, Akshay Thakur, is from Dhalli in Shimla and was arrested on Wednesday night, said police. According to the information, the accused allegedly attempted to snatch belongings from the girl in a deserted forest area at a short distance from the village while she was on her way home. When she raised an alarm, he hit her head with a stone. Hearing her cries, other schoolchildren passing by rushed to the spot, upon which the accused fled. The injured was then brought to the road by other students and later rushed to hospital. The assault comes close on the heels of the murder of a college student in Mandi, intensifying concerns over crimes against women in the state and prompting police to step up patrolling. A 19-year-old college student was brutally murdered on morning of April 13 in the Sarkaghat sub-division of Mandi district. The victim, identified as Siya Guleria, of Nain village, was on her way to college. As per reports, an assailant intercepted her and slit her throat with a sickle. He also stabbed her multiple times in the neck and arm, causing her to collapse and die on the spot. He was later arrested and a murder case was registered against him. A case under sections Sections 109 (attempt to murder), 64 (rape), 78 (stalking), 126(2) (wrongfull restraint), and 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nayaya Sanhita, as well as Section 18 of the POCSO Act was registered against Akshay. The police said that the statement of the victim is yet to be recorded. Shimla superintendent of police, Gaurav Singh, while talking to HT said, "We have arrested the accused. The victim has been discharged. The medical examination of the accused was conducted and he was not intoxicated." Singh added, "Patrolling has been intensified in all the wards in the city with special focus on the schools, parking areas, secluded areas and places that could be used by the drug addicts." htc...