By IANS
New Delhi : A tight security cordon was thrown around Rajasthan House Saturday where controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, who was virtually hounded out of Kolkata, is temporarily staying after arriving in the national capital from Jaipur.
Security personnel kept the gates of the guesthouse locked and the premises were completely sealed off to the public after Nasreen arrived here past midnight in a speedy and stealthy operation.
“We kept her in a guesthouse outside Delhi initially but decided to move her to Rajasthan House once we got the green signal,” said a senior home ministry official.
“We will be taking a call today on where she will finally stay.”
Nasreen, who is facing threats from Muslim hardliners, has been shunted from one place to another since Thursday — first shifted to Jaipur by the West Bengal police following large-scale violence in Kolkata by a Muslim organisation demanding cancellation of her visa, and then to Delhi.
A number of police personnel from Delhi and Rajasthan were present at Rajasthan House Saturday, ending a daylong mystery about her exact whereabouts.
Senior police officials visited Rajasthan House to review security arrangements but refused to talk to the media.
Nasreen was hurriedly shifted from Jaipur to Delhi on Friday after the All India Milli Council threatened to hold protests if the writer was kept in Rajasthan for long.
Anticipating outbreak of violence in various parts of Rajasthan, especially Jaipur, senior officials of the state government contacted Nasreen, who wanted to be sent back to Kolkata.
Accordingly, arrangements were made by the Rajasthan government to send Nasreen to Kolkata. However, the West Bengal police simply refused to accept the idea.
Then it was decided that Nasreen would be a guest of the state government, but outside the state, till such time union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) takes a decision on her stay and security.
The cabinet committee on security, which met in New Delhi Friday, was expected to discuss the threat perception to the author and take a call on where to house her. But the agenda of the meeting was changed due to the serial blasts in Uttar Pradesh.
A DIG-rank police officer and commissioner Rohit Kumar Singh were in charge of the security team that brought Nasreen to the national capital from the Pink City.
The author has been living in exile for more than ten years now after a fatwa was issued against her in Bangladesh.
Since the 1990s, Nasreen has faced numerous threats from Islamic groups for her writings. Activists of Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) attacked her at a book release function in Hyderabad in August.
According to home ministry officials, Nasreen’s visa is valid till February 18 next year.