Taslima Nasreen denied entry in Aurangabad following protests by Owaisi's AIMIM

Aurangabad (Maharashtra) [India], August 1 (ANI): Controversial Bangladeshi writer and author Taslima Nasreen was sent back to Mumbai from an Aurangabad Airport after protests broke out outside the airport premises and the hotel she was supposed to stay in. The protests were reportedly orchestrated by Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen's (AIMIM) legislator Imtiyaz Jaleel. The protestors shouted "Taslima Go Back" after Nasreen landed at Aurangabad's Chikalthana Airport on Saturday evening. Nasreen was on a three-day visit to the city. The police, fearing a breakdown of law and order in the area, asked her to stay inside the airport. The police then asked her to return to Mumbai, to which she agreed. Jaleel, the MLA from Aurangabad central constituency, reportedly carried out the protests as he said that Nasreen's writings have hurt the religious sentiments of the Muslims across the world. Nasreen, now a citizen of Sweden, has been living in exile ever since she left Bangladesh in 1994 in the wake of threats to her by fundamentalist groups. The Indian Home Ministry had extended her visa for a year, with effect from July 23. Meanwhile, reacting to this, Asmita Basu, Programmes Director at the Amnesty International India, has said that the situation marks a "worrying capitulation" by Maharashtra authorities to the threat of violence. (ANI)