A university professor in Bangladesh was murdered near his home in the northwestern city of Rajshahi on Saturday, police said. AFM Rezaul Karim Siddique, 58, taught English at the Rajshahi University, reported AFP. He was hacked from behind with machetes while he was on his way to the bus station, the report said. The attackers have not been found yet and the police are unsure of the motive behind the murder, reported PTI.

Siddique was involved in cultural programmes and set up a music school at Bagmara, which is a former stronghold of the banned Islamist group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh, Deputy Commissioner of Police Nahidul Islam told AFP. "The attack is similar to the ones carried out on bloggers in the recent past," he said.

There has been a rise in the deaths of secular writers and activists in Bangladesh over the last year. Siddique's killing comes soon after a Bangladeshi student (pictured above), who posted against Islamism on Facebook, was hacked and shot dead. Two years ago, another professor at the university, AKM Shafiul, was also murdered. In 2015, four secular bloggers were also killed.