Red City to Pink City: Taslima's ordeal continues

The Rajasthan government on Thursday night claimed it was not informed about controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen being flown here from Kolkata.

"I am not in a position to say anything about Nasreen since the state government was not informed about her visit," Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said.

A senior police officer, however, said the author was on a "personal visit" and the state had only provided security to her.

Nasreen went looking for accommodation to several hotels, including two with five-star ratings, but was told they could not offer her lodgings owing to "full occupancy", the  police said.

She is currently staying at Hotel Shika near the Civil Secretariat, the police has sealed its entrance and thrown a security cordon around it.

A posse of electronic and print journalists and photographers were squatting outside the hotel till late into the night hoping to interact with her. All vehiclular trafffic in the area has been diverted.

The hotel management refused to divulge anything about the author, but said one Faizal Khan had accompanied her to the Pink City.