Taslima Nasreen returns to India, seeks visa extension

Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen has returned to India seeking extension of her visa.

The 47-year-old Bangladeshi writer, who has been a target of Islamic fundamentalists, is currently staying at an undisclosed destination, official sources said.

Taslima had left India in August last year for Washington after succeeding to get extension of visa which expires on February 16. The writer has been requesting for permanent residency in the country but the government has not taken any decision on the issue.

She had earlier expressed her desire to visit Kolkata, which has been turned down saying radical elements may try and harm her, the sources said. Earlier, she was dramatically bundled out from West Bengal in November 2007 in the wake of violent protests by radical Muslim groups there.

Taslima has lived in exile in many countries, including France, Sweden, the US and India, since leaving her home in Dhaka in a cloak of secrecy in 1994. During her stay in India in the last five years, she has periodically travelled abroad with the last trip being in August 2009.