Taslima in Delhi, refuses to meet media

NEW DELHI: It was a never-ending wait for the media to catch a glimpse of controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen outside Rajasthan House on  Prithviraj Road. However, Nasreen refused to come step out of the guesthouse and it was left to the Delhi Police to keep the media at bay.

At around 2pm, nearly 30 Delhi police personnel, including an ACP rank officer took charge of security outside Rajasthan House. Barricades, water cannons and lathi-wielding cops stood guard. “We anticipate some demonstrations by Muslim fundamentalists due to Nasreen’s presence and hence all precautionary measures are being exercised,” said a police official.

Later, a man was seen distributing what a pamphlet which turned out to be a statement sent by former MP BL Sharma who expressed a desire “to adopt Taslima Nasreen as his own daughter.”

Nasreen, who is facing threats from Muslim hardliners, has been shunted from one place to another since Thursday-first to Jaipur by the West Bengal police following large-scale violence in Kolkata by a Muslim organisation demanding that her Indian visa be cancelled - and then to Delhi.

And after a six hour long wait to hear from the author, an official of the Rajasthan government who had escorted the author to Delhi came out and told the media that “Nasreen does not wish to speak to the media right now.”