A friend of the youth accused of knifing Sylhet professor Mohammed Zafar Iqbal was placed on a one-week remand on Monday for allegedly giving the assailant a memory card loaded with Islamic sermons which inspired the attack.
Shohag Miah, 24, from Dirai upazila of Sunamganj district, was arrested by Jalalabad police on Sunday night in the Kalibari Bandhan residential area of the city.
Shohag, who is the son of Siddiqur Rahman, is reported to have given Foyzur Rahman Faizul alias Shafiqur a memory card which inspired Faizul to stab Dr Mohammed Zafar Iqbal in the back of the head during a program at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet on March 3.
Police have said Faizul thought Dr Iqbal, a noted author and academic, was anti-Islam after reading his book "Vooter Bachcha Soleman".
According to Faizul, the 8GB memory card, which was loaded with many Islamic speeches and sermons, was given to him when Shohag robbed a computer store.
Police said a computer used by Faizul was also recovered during the arrest of Shohag.
The Investigation Officer and OC of Jalalabad police station, Safiqul Islam, produced Shohag before the Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Monday afternoon and appealed for seven days of remand.
Also Read- Faizul: Several other people were involved in the attack on Zafar Iqbal
Metropolitan Magistrate Saifuzzaman Hero granted the remand upon receiving the appeal.
Faizul, who also claimed to be a hawker and a madrasa student, was detained at the scene of the March 3 attack by students, who later handed him over to police.
On March 8 Faizul was placed on a 10-day remand. The same day, the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) Unit of police also arrested Faizul’s brother, Emanul, in Gazipur and confiscated a mobile phone and tablet computer that were previously used by Faizul.
Emanul was placed on an eight-day remand. The same court had also placed the siblings’ parents and an uncle on remand for different terms.
Zafar Iqbal has since made a full recovery. After receiving immediate treatment at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital on March 3, the professor was airlifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka that night following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s order.
After his physical condition improved, the professor was shifted from the Intensive Care Unit to a cabin. He left Dhaka for Sylhet on a flight on the morning of March 14.
Sunday, March 23, 2025
