Renowned author Salman Rushdie was stabbed on stage before giving a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York last night. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the author is alive and has been transported to a local hospital. New York State Police said that the suspect was taken into custody by a state trooper at the event.
The 75-year old India-born author was facing death threats over his book ‘The Satanic Verses’. Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued fatwa that called for Rushdie’s execution after publication of his book in 1988. The threat forced him into hiding for several years. In 1981, he won Booker Prize for his novel ‘Midnight’s Children’ and hogged the limelight.