Staff Reporter :
Noted writer and eminent academician Professor Dr. Muhammed Zafar Iqbal was hacked by a youth in broad-day-light on the campus of Shahjalal University of Science & Technology (SUST) on Saturday afternoon.
“Zafar Iqbal is out of danger”, Brigadier General Mahbubul Haque, Director of Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital (SOMCH), told the media in the evening.
“He was sent to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital after conducting an operation at his head,” the SOMCH director said.
Meanwhile, the renowned writer was also airlifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka at the Prime Minister’s directive.
“The attacker stabbed him on the head from behind with a sharp weapon at Mukta Mancha on the campus around 5:30pm, our correspondent reports quoting the SUST Proctor Professor Zahir Uddin.
Zafar Iqbal was attacked by the unidentified man while he was speaking with some students during a two-day long fair organized by the Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering (EEE) of the university, he said.
The assailant hacked at on his head with a sharp sword from the backside in the crowded area during the concluding ceremony of a festival programme of the EEE Department, Prof. Zahir added.
Dr. Iqbal was rushed to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital immediately just after the attack, according to him.
The programme participants and students nabbed the attacker after he carried out the attack, he said. SUST Advisory and Instruction Director Md Rashed Talukder said the youth attacked Dr Zafar Iqbal at Muktamanch near Shaheed Minar area while he was approaching to attend the concluding programme.
The attacker’s identity could not be confirmed by the university authorities and students, he said.
The victim’s Personal Assistant (PA) Joynal Abedin said that Dr Zafar Iqbal rushed to the hospital with the injury at his head. His blood group is A+ (ve).
Meanwhile, the students staged a protest rally after breaking out a long procession demanding justice on the campus in the evening, witnesses said.
The attacker was handed over to police by giving a mass beating after detention from the spot, they said.
The students, relatives and well-wishers rushed to the hospital to Dr Zafar Iqbal, they added.
Abdul Wahab, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP), said that police have started the initial investigation of the attack.
A police constable named Ibrahim was also injured in the attack, he said.
Additional Police personnel were deployed on the campus and the hospital area to avert any untoward incident, the police official said.
Earlier, Dr Zafar Iqbal was received death threat by an unidentified miscreant over his mobile phone on October 12 in 2016, police sources said.
The text was ‘Hi Unbeliever! We will strangulate you soon,’ they said.
As per security step, the police headquarters provided three armed police personnel at night and two also in the day to ensure his security and safety. But he retuned the policemen after a few days.
The BNP strongly condemning the attack said that those who want fish in the troubled waters are behind the attack.
The attack on Zafar Iqbal sparked protests in different parts of the country, including Dhaka and Sylhet.
As a part of the protests, activists of Gonojagoron Mancha staged a demonstration at Shahbagh intersection in the capital.
Gonojagoron Mancha spokesperson Imran H Sarker also announced programme for today (Sunday) in Dhaka protesting the attack.
Hundreds of students of Dhaka University and Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet also staged demonstrations on the campuses after hearing the news of the attack on Zafar Iqbal.
