New Delhi : Bangladeshi writer-activist Taslima Nasreen on March 2 said she "had never written" an article on the Islamic veil that triggered widespread rioting and arson in Karnataka, killing two, and suspected it was an attempt to malign her.

"I learned that the rioting and violence in Karnataka were provoked by an article written by me that appeared in a Karnataka newspaper. But I have never written any article for any Karnataka newspaper in my life. The appearance of the article in a Kannada daily is atrocious and horrifying. I was shocked by the incident," Nasreen told the media in a written statement from her residence in a south Delhi neighbourhood.

"In any of my writings, I have never mentioned that Prophet Muhammad was against 'burqa (veil)'. Therefore, this is a distorted story. I suspect it is a deliberate attempt to malign me and misuse my writings to create disturbance in society. I want peace and communal amity to prevail," she said. Nasreen, a physician-turned-writer, is the author of several essays, anthologies, collections of short stories, and novels like 'Lajja' (Shame), 'Amar Meyebela' (My Bengali Girlhood) and 'Phera' (Return).