Protection team locked Rushdie in cupboard and went to the pub!

London, July 28 (ANI): Salman Rushdie's police minders were so fed up of the author's rude and arrogant behavior that they once locked him in a cupboard and went to the pub.

In his autobiography, Ex-Special Branch detective Ron Evans, who guarded Rushdie after a fatwa issued by the Iranian Ayatollah on his book Satanic Verses, dubbed the authot as tight-fisted, rude and arrogant, and revealed that the protection team had nicknamed him Scruffy because of his unkempt appearance.

He said that on one occasion they were confined to their rooms so Rushdie - codenamed Joe - could spend an intimate evening with girlfriend and later third wife Elizabeth West.

Evans revealed that one night, he and two colleagues had a few bottles of red wine and went looking for more.

They found "a few dozen" bottles of French wine, and an officer was sent to ask Rushdie if they could buy them.

"He returned a few minutes later. 'He says it'll cost us £45 a bottle.' Joe wanted corkage! Clearly, he was not a generous man," Telegraph quoted him as saying.

"The original team with Scruffy got so fed up with his attitude that they locked him in a cupboard under the stairs and all went to the local pub for a pint or two. When they were suitably refreshed they came back and let him out," he added. (ANI)