Prof Zafar Iqbal comes under knife attack

Prof Muhammed Zafar Iqbal suffered head injuries in a knife attack on him on Saturday at the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) in Sylhet.

He was later stated to be out of danger, but the famed writer was still scheduled to be taken to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka, said Dr Ehteshamul Hoque Dulal, the additional director general of the Directorate General of Health Services, citing an instruction from the prime minister.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ordered the officials to bring Prof Iqbal to Dhaka by an air-ambulance, her Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told bdnews24.com on Saturday evening.

Karim and Dr Dulal spoke to the news agency after the university teacher suffered head injuries in the knife attack on him at an event at the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) in Sylhet.

Dulal had been following the condition of Iqbal from Dhaka.

Iqbal was first rushed to the Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital for treatment.

Dr Dulal, also the secretary general of Bangladesh Medical Association, said he was in touch with the hospital authority in Sylhet.

"He was immediately taken to the OT [operating theatre] where doctors cleaned his wounds. There is no deep cut. I can confirm that he is out of danger."

"I was told that they were stitching the injured area."

One person was detained in connection with the attack, Shahjalal University Public Administration Department Assistant Professor Md Mahmud Hasan told the news agency. The detainee was kept at the university's Academic Building-2. He was yet to be identified.

A festival organised by the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department was underway on the campus. Iqbal was the chief guest at the event, where he was attacked.

"He was attacked from behind and stabbed in the head as he was taking the stage at 5:00 pm," a student told the news agency.

"A boy came from behind the stage and stabbed his neck, chest and mouth. He was immediately detained by police and others," Proctor Zahir Uddin Ahmed said.

The motive for the attack was not discovered.

Iqbal had recently criticised the practice of ragging on campus. He had recently said that five students punished for ragging had gotten off easy and should have been handed over to police. It was not immediately clear whether the attack was related to his criticism of ragging.

Some students believe militants might have been responsible for the attack. Iqbal has been an outspoken opponent of militancy and communalism.

Students from Shahjalal University began agitating after the attack.

"Things are heated," Jalalabad Police Station OC Shafiqul Islam Swapan said. "The students are causing vandalism. Police are working to bring the situation under control."

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and others condemned the attack.

Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus also condemned the shocking and heinous attack on Prof Zafar Iqbal.

"I pray for his swift and full recovery and express my earnest hope that the assailants will be apprehended and be brought to justice at the fastest speed," Yunus said in a statement.