Taslima Nasreen says only Aurangabad Police knew about her arrival, wonders how `fanatics` got to know about her itinerary

Aurangabad: Controversial Bangladesh-born author Taslima Nasreen on Monday wondered how the itinerary of her visit to Aurangabad was leaked.

Police are now probing how the travel plan of an international celebrity was leaked, giving rise to a potential law and order issue.

Nasreen, now a Swedish citizen, was virtually packed off from the Chikalthana Airport in Aurangabad at around 8 pm on Saturday after huge protests outside as well as near the Taj Hotel where she planned to stay during her three-day sojourn.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) legislator Imtiyaz Jaleel led one of the protests. The party activists waving placards and banners shouted slogans, demanding that she goes back, even as police rushed to the protest spots. Jaleel said her writings have "hurt" the religious sentiments of Muslims across the world.

"We will not allow her to step on the soil of our city," he said.

An obviously peeved Nasreen made her displeasure known on Monday.

"Nobody, but the police in Aurangabad, was informed about my itinerary and hotel booking. I wonder how fanatics got to know everything?," she tweeted.

"I had a dream to visit Ellora and Ajanta Caves. Can't believe it was not possible in the largest democracy in the world," she said in another tweet.

After her flight from New Delhi landed in Aurangabad on July 29, top officials met her and explained to her the "sensitive situation outside the airport and the hotel".

The sources said protesters had very specific information in advance on all confidential details, including her flight's arrival timing and her hotel stay, besides her plans to go around various tourist hotspots in and around the world-renowned tourism city.

The author, who is accorded tight security globally, was granted the option to step out and continue with her trip or return, and she reluctantly opted to take the next flight to Mumbai.

The visit cancellation triggered a volley of reactions on the social media, which she countered by saying: "Can any of them tell what I wrote about the Prophet? They can't because they haven't read my books. They only use me for their political interests."

"I'm NOT an enemy, I'm a true friend of Muslims. Only friends and well-wishers want you to be educated and enlightened and your religion to be reformed."

Nasreen 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.

(With Agency inputs)