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WATCH: Author Salman Rushdie stabbed in the neck at New York event

New York: Writer Salman Rushdie was stabbed in the neck at an event in New York on Friday. The New York State Police confirmed the attack and said the author was airlifted to an area hospital. The attacker is in custody, the police said.

The Mumbai-born novelist gained prominence with his 1981 novel Midnight’s Children, which was awarded the Booker Prize. It was also awarded Best of the Bookers twice.

His 1988 book The Satanic Verses was viewed as blasphemous by many Muslims. The novel was banned in Iran, where the late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a 1989 fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdie’s death.

A bounty of over $3 million has also been offered for anyone who kills Rushdie. The death threats and bounty led Rushdie to go into hiding under a British government protection programme, including a round-the-clock armed guard. Rushdie emerged after nine years of seclusion and cautiously resumed more public appearances.

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