Controversial Indian author Salman Rushdie’s Calcutta visit cancelled amid security concerns

Mumbai: Controversial Indian author Salman Rushdie’s visit to Kolkata to promote Deepa Mehta’s film ‘Midnight’s Children’, based on his novel, has been cancelled due to security issues.

According to sources, some promotional activities including a press conference were forced to cancel at the last minute after finding out that there were security issues.

Joint Commissioner of Police (headquarters) Javed Shamim however said, “We had no prior information of his (Rushdie) arrival in the city. We do not know anything approximately it.”

Meanwhile, anticipating Rushdie’s arrival in the city around a hundred people from various Muslim groups had gathered at the Kolkata airport in the morning to protest against him.

After they were told by the airport police that the author of ‘Satanic Verses’ is not coming down to Kolkata from Mumbai they dispersed.

Source – Thenewstribe