Rushdie in critical condition, on ventilator, likely to lose an eye, liver damaged, severed nerves in an arm

NEW YORK: Indian-origin British writer Salman Rushdie (75) who was attacked in the US, is in a critical condition. He is on ventilator. His liver has been damaged and severed nerves in an arm. He is likely to lose an eye. He sustained serious injuries in an attack during a function in New York.

The attacker has been identified. Hadi Matar (24), a native of New Jersey, was arrested at the scene. It was found that Matar had a pass to attend the lecture. The people there stopped him and handed him over to the police. Hadi, who was among the people in the audience, entered the stage and stabbed Rushdie, who was about to deliver a speech. Rushdie, who sustained fatal neck injuries was immediately airlifted to the hospital and underwent surgery.

Rushdie had death threats from Islamic fundamentalists. The attacker jumped to the stage after the anchor introduced Rushdie. The anchor who tried to stop him was also injured.

His book The Satanic Verses was banned in Iran since 1988, as many Muslims consider it to be blasphemous. A year later, Iran’s late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdie’s death. Since then, Rushdie, whose life was in danger, rarely appeared in public. He was under security in Britain. He moved to America twenty years ago. Midnight's Children, a novel set against the background of the Indian freedom struggle, had won the Booker Prize.