Taslima 'forced' to leave Pink City; heads to Delhi

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Last updated on: November 23, 2007 12:37 IST

Virtually hounded out of the Pink City, controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen on Friday left for Delhi by road amidst security concerns. She had been flown to Jaipur after she was forced to leave Kolkata due to violent protests by a Muslim outfit seeking the cancellation of her visa.

 

Accompanied by an individual identified as Faisal, she was escorted by some Rajasthan police personnel.

 

Sources said that she left for Delhi early on Friday morning following threats by a Muslim organization -- the All India Milli Council -- to hold demonstrations in the city if the writer was kept in the state for long.

 

Opposing her stay in the city, Milli state vice president Engineer Mohd Saleem said freedom does not mean that one could abuse any religion.

 

Last night, the Bangladeshi writer had stayed at a hotel in Rajasthan. Over 30 police personnel had been posted to guard her, according to hotel sources.

 

Rajasthan Inspector General (Security) Meghchand Meena said Taslima was provided 'Y' grade security by the Rajasthan authorities on the requests of their West Bengal counterparts.

 

Nasreen was brought to Jaipur after protests by a Muslim outfit in Kolkata demanding her deportation turned violent on Wednesday, forcing the West Bengal government to call in the army to quell large-scale violence.

West Bengal police had suggested to Nasreen that she could be moved out to Rajasthan after the 'shutdown' by a little known All India Minority Forum triggered a large-scale violence.

The Forum, which wanted Taslima's visa to be cancelled, was also voicing its protest against the Nandigram situation.

Taslima's visa has been extended to February 17. She has angered conservative Muslims by her writing and fled her homeland in 1994 after radical Muslims demanded her execution.

She was attacked up by activists of Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) at a book release function on August 9 in Hyderabad.

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