While talking to news hounds on Saturday night, RAB 9 Chief Lt Col Ali Haidar Azad said: "During the interrogation, Faizul told us that he attacked Prof Zafar Iqbal because the professor was an enemy of Islam."
"The assailant has been admitted to a hospital. During initial investigation, he provided us with contradictory statements. We are yet to determine whether Faizul is a member of a terror group," Ali Haidar of Rapid Action Battalion
said.He said: "More details will be unearthed as we carry out further investigation regarding the attack on Zafar Iqbal."
Zafar Iqbal was speaking at a two-day long fair organized by the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering when he was stabbed in the back of his head by an assailant armed with a knife on Saturday.
The attack occurred around 5:40pm. The attacker, a youth identified as Foizur, was immediately taken down and detained by authorities after a severe thrashing.
Zafar was taken to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College after the attack afternoon.
Also Read- ISPR: Zafar Iqbal out of danger
From there he was taken by an air force ambulance to the air force’s Tejgaon air field in Dhaka, and then taken to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH).
A team of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTC) is in Sylhet to interrogate the attacker.
According to CTTC sources, investigation is being conducted taking into consideration the numerous threats Zafar Iqbal received from hard boy groups over the past few years.
Attack on Zafar Iqbal: Who is Faizul?
[Dhaka Tribune] Foyzur Rahman Faizul, who stabbed noted author Zafar Iqbal at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), was a madrasa student and had abandoned his studies to sell clothes on the streets.
According to sources, Faizul gave up his studies four years ago, and started selling clothes in 2016. He traded at Kaliyarkapon Bazar under Derai upazila of Sunamganj.
Locals, preferring to be anonymous, revealed that Faizul was ejected from a local mosque for arguing about the teachings of Islam around that time.
Faizul’s father- Hafiz Atiqur Rahman is a teacher at Jameya Makhlisia Madrasa situated in the outskirts of Sylhet. Faizul has four other siblings.
The youth used to live with his family in their own home in Sheikhpara area of Sylhet. He left his home after being ejected from the local mosque.
Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury, a local villager, told the Dhaka Tribune: "Faizul used to visit Kaliyarkapon village quite often and sold clothes around the neighbourhood. However,
nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits...
we have not seen him for the past two years. He was a student at the Dhol Madrasa at the village.
"Faizul’s maternal uncle Zahar Mia was also taken out from a mosque for arguing about Islam. Zahar currently lives in Kuwait. He followed the footsteps of his uncle and tried to establish his interpretation of Islam into the mosque, but faced stiff resistance from the local mosque-goers."
Following the attack on Zafar Iqbal, Faizul’s family members locked up their residence and fled the neighbourhood around 9pm on Saturday.
Before leaving their home, the family told their neighbours that they are visiting the hospital.
Law enforcers soon conducted a raid at Faizul’s home but are yet to track down the family.
Faizul is currently undergoing treatment at the Sylhet CMH. Meanwhile,
...back at the revival hall, the SWAT team had finally arrived...
a statement released by the Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) has confirmed that Prof Muhammed Zafar Iqbal is currently out of danger at the Dhaka CMH.