GM Masud Rana Jewel, principal of Abadpukur College and vice-president of the Raninagar upazila unit of Awami League (whose activities are banned across the country), was seriously injured in an attack on the college premises in Raninagar upazila on Sunday.

The attackers allegedly beat Jewel, breaking one of his arms and both legs, before setting fire to his motorcycle.

The incident occurred at around 12:15pm when Jewel went to the college to rejoin his post following a High Court order.

Salauddin Ahmed, acting principal of Abadpukur College, said Jewel was sitting in the office room and drinking tea when a group of people dragged him outside and beat him.

They also set fire to his motorcycle, he said.

Police were informed immediately and rushed to the spot, bringing the situation under control. Jewel was then rescued and taken to Naogaon Sadar Hospital.

Salauddin said he could not identify those involved in the attack.

According to him, several people had filed written complaints with different authorities after August 5, alleging that Jewel had taken lakhs of taka from people on promises of providing them jobs at the college.

He said Jewel was temporarily suspended from his post about two years ago following the allegations and his absence from the college after August 5.

Jewel later obtained a High Court order for reinstatement. Acting on the court order and a directive from the college's current president, Raninagar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Rakibul Hasan, he went to the college on Sunday to rejoin his post.

Jewel's brother Prince Ahmed said a group of people assaulted both him and his brother when they went to the college.

"My brother suffered a broken arm and both his legs were fractured in the attack," he said.

UNO Md Rakibul Hasan said he was attending a meeting at the Deputy Commissioner's office when he was informed of the incident.

"After receiving the news from the acting principal, I immediately sent police to the spot. We are investigating who was involved in the incident," he said.

Zakaria Mondal, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Raninagar Police Station, said police rushed to the college and brought the situation under control.

Efforts are on to identify those involved, he said.

The OC said no written complaint had been received yet and that legal action would be taken after a complaint was filed.

Meanwhile, Jewel's wife Roksana Parvin, a lecturer at Raninagar Sher-e-Bangla College, said on Monday morning that his condition deteriorated while he was undergoing treatment at Naogaon 250-bed General Hospital.

He was transferred to Dhaka on Sunday night and is currently undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), she said.