Will return to India when I feel safe, says Taslima Nasrin

Kolkata: Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin, who has relocated to the US after death threats by radicals from her country, on Wednesday said she has not left India permanently and will return when she feels safe.

"Was threatened by Islamists who killed atheist bloggers in Bangladesh. Worried. Wanted to meet GOI (Government of India). No appointment. Left. Will be back when feel safe," Nasrin tweeted.

New York-based advocacy group Center for Inquiry had on Tuesday said they had helped her relocate from India following threats by radicals responsible for killing three secular bloggers in Bangladesh since February.

"Islamic radicals reportedly linked to al-Qaeda, the same violent extremists who claimed responsibility for the recent murders of freethought writers Avijit Roy, Washiqur Rahman, and Ananta Bijoy Das, have been threatening the life of Taslima Nasrin," New York-based advocacy group Center for Inquiry said in a press release.

"Because of the very real danger to her life, Taslima has decided to leave India. For the indefinite future, to preserve her life, she will need to stay in the United States- where she currently has no job or home," said Ronald A Lindsay, President & CEO of the group.

Lindsay said that these death threats should be taken very seriously as three writers have been viciously murdered in three months. "We at the Center for Inquiry are doing all we can to keep her out of harm's way," he added.

"I often go to USA. To give lectures & to see my family. I havn't left India permanently. Indian govt always provides security," Nasreen, whose books like 'Lajja' and 'Dwikhandito' have attracted the ire of fundamentalists, said in another tweet.

The 52-year-old writer has been living in exile since 1994 in the wake of death threats by Muslim fundamentalist outfits.

After a long stay in Europe she took refuge in India in 2004. She stayed in Kolkata, which she called her home till 2007 when she was bundled out following violent protests by Muslims against her work.

She stayed in an undisclosed location in New Delhi for about seven months till she left for Sweden, which granted her citizenship.

She, however, returned to Delhi and has been continuously getting Indian visa. "Pet cat is waiting," she said in her tweets today.