Bangladesh’s prominent secular writer Dr Zafar Iqbal, who is a professor at the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, was stabbed in the head while taking part in a university event in Sylhet on Saturday.
He was immediately rushed to a local hospital following the attack. Doctors attending to him stated that Dr Iqbal was out of danger after a team of doctors administered around 25 stiches on his wound. However, he was later shifted to Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka, following instructions from Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also vehemently condemned the heinous attack and had ordered authorities to take immediate steps to bring the attackers to justice.
“He was hit on the back of his head and was bleeding profusely,” agencies quoted a police officials as saying.
The 65-year-old was reportedly stabbed from behind as he was about to take the stage to address a science festival organized by the university.
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The well-known activist and science fiction writer has been facing death threats from radical groups in the country.
Since the last two years, Dr Iqbal was provided with police security cover and according to reports at least three policemen stood within a few yards from the seats on the stage where the professor sat during the attack around 5:50 pm on Saturday evening.
Students present at the venue immediately pounced on the attacker and severely beaten him up before handing him over to security personnel present at the venue.
According to reports, an accomplice of the attacker was waiting on a motorcycle outside the venue of the programme. He, however, fled immediately after the attack, agency reports quoted the students as saying.
Meanwhile, students at the university began spontaneous protests against the fatal attack on Iqbal after the incident.