Dhaka: A Bangladeshi professor and secular writer who had been threatened by militants and who had spoken out against ragging was stabbed in his head and neck by an unidentified assailant in front of his guards during an event at a university here, police said.

Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, an outspoken opponent of militancy and communalism and popular science fiction writer, has suffered head injuries in the attack that took place at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet, bdnews24 reported.

The attacker was caught and handed over to the police, Shahjalal University public administration department assistant professor Md Mahmud Hasan said.

The motive behind the attack was not immediately known, the police said.

Iqbal, a professor of the university, was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was able to speak despite bleeding profusely, the report said.

"He is out of danger after surgery and being taken to Dhaka Combined Military Hospital," The Daily Star newspaper quoted Brig. Gen. Mahbubul Haque, director of Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina "strongly" condemned the attack and ordered officials to take quick action to bring the assailants to justice.

The attack took place during a festival organised by the electrical and electronic engineering department where he was the chief guest.

The attacker struck from behind and stabbed him in the head, the report said.

"Things are heated. The students are causing vandalism. The police are working to bring the situation under control," Jalalabad police station officer-in-charge Shafiqul Islam Swapan said.

Iqbal had recently criticised ragging on campus and said that five students punished for ragging had got off easy and should have been handed over to the police, the report said.

Some students believe that militants may have been responsible for the attack.

Iqbal has had police protection since 2015, when militants threatened to kill him.

There were six to seven policemen guarding him when the attack took place, the report said.

The police has not been able to interrogate the attacker yet as he is undergoing treatment following a beating at the attack spot, a police officer said.