Student detained in Bangladeshi professor's slaying

RAJSHAHI, Bangladesh, April 24 (UPI) -- A student was arrested Sunday in the slaying of a university professor in Bangladesh, a killing that was claimed by the Islamic State.

The student was arrested just hours after Rezaul Karim Siddique, a 58-year-old English professor, was hacked to death in the northern city of Rajshahi, said senior police officer Tamijuddin Sarker.

"The student was not formally charged for the murder but was detained for interrogation," the officer said, adding a six-member panel is investigating the slaying.

Police did not releasing the student's name.

Siddique was attacked from behind and stabbed in the neck while waiting for a bus to take him to campus Saturday, according to Sadhir Haider Chowdhury, a city police commissioner. Two or three assailants rode on a motorcycle.

IS, also known as the ISIS, ISIL and Daesh, claimed responsibility for the slaying, according to Amaq, the terror group's media agency.

"ISIS fighters assassinated a university professor for calling to atheism in the city of Rajshahi in Bangladesh," a statement from the group said.

It is unclear whether this attack was related to the recent hacking deaths of bloggers in Bangladesh.

Deputy Police Commissioner Nahidul Islam said earlier that the killers might have been jihadis.

"We believe Islamic militants were behind the attack, because the nature of the incident is similar to previous attacks carried out on atheist writers and activists," he said. "Siddique was very active organizing cultural events in the university. He was also planning to open a music school in his home village, Bagmara."

Anima Choudhury, who studied literature with the professor from 2010 to 2015, said she saw nothing political in him.

"I don't know what the motive is, but he was a very good person, and he had no political links," Choudhury said. "He wasn't involved in any issues that can cause this. It's really mysterious, and it was really shocking, because we didn't expect something like this could happen to him. I guess we have to wait for the reasons."

On Sunday, Rajshahi University teachers went on strike and students demonstrated on campus demanding punishment of the killers.