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India.com
5 hours ago
- Politics
- India.com
Bengal Woman Accuses Padma Awardee Monk Kartik Maharaj Of Rape, Abortion
New Delhi: A shocking scandal has rocked West Bengal, with a woman accusing Padma Shri awardee monk Kartik Maharaj of raping her multiple times in 2013. Maharaj, a prominent figure in the Bharat Sevashram Sangha, allegedly promised the woman a teaching job at a school in Murshidabad, where he purportedly assaulted her repeatedly over six months. According to media reports, Maharaj allegedly lured the woman to his ashram in Murshidabad, West Bengal, and repeatedly assaulted her there, threatening to harm himself if she dared to report the incident. Citing the woman's complaint, the media reported, Maharaj offered her a job at Chanak Adivasi Abasik Balika Vidyalaya in Murshidabad, where she claimed he raped her multiple times between January and June 2013. The woman alleges that Maharaj threatened to harm himself if she reported the incident, forcing her to remain silent for over a decade. She also claims that Maharaj forced her to undergo an abortion at a private hospital in Berhampore after she became pregnant due to the repeated assaults. However, Maharaj, who was conferred the Padma Shri - the fourth-highest civilian award - this year, has denied any wrongdoing. He also said that there is a provision of accommodation at the said ashram mentioned by the woman. Maharaj has vehemently denied the allegations, stating that as a sanyasi, he faces such obstacles, and his legal team will respond to the matter in court. A case has been registered against Maharaj under relevant sections, and an investigation is currently underway. "I am a sanyasi. Such obstacles are not uncommon in the life of a monk," he said. The case has sparked controversy, given Maharaj's close ties with the BJP. Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had previously accused him of supporting the saffron party in elections, prompting Maharaj to seek an unconditional apology from Banerjee. The incident comes amid protests against the Trinamool government over another alleged gang-rape incident involving a law student in Kolkata. Maharaj had sent a legal notice in 2024, seeking an unconditional apology from Banerjee for "tarnishing" the image of his ashram. The recent allegations against Padma Shri awardee monk Kartik Maharaj come amid a tumultuous time for the Trinamool government in West Bengal, which is facing widespread protests following a shocking gang-rape incident at Kolkata's South Calcutta Law College. A 24-year-old law student alleged that she was gang-raped by three individuals, including a former student linked to the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad, the student wing of the ruling Trinamool Congress, and two current students, within the college premises on June 25. The accused have been arrested and taken into police custody. This incident has sparked outrage, drawing parallels to the RG Kar Medical College incident last year, and raising concerns about safety and law enforcement in the state.
India Today
7 hours ago
- Politics
- India Today
Woman accuses Padma Shri awardee of rape in Bengal, monk denies charge
A woman in West Bengal has accused Padma Shri awardee monk Kartik Maharaj of raping her in 2013 on the pretext of offering her a job at a school. Kartik Maharaj, who is known to be close to the BJP, has denied the woman alleged that Maharaj, a monk of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha, took her to an ashram in Murshidabad, promising her a teaching job at a school situated in its premises. She was also given accommodation at the one night, the woman claimed that the monk entered her room and forced himself on her. She said that she remained silent on the incident all these years out of fear and helplessness. - Ends
News18
11 hours ago
- News18
Woman Accuses Padma Awardee Monk Kartik Maharaj Of Rape, Threats, And Abortion
Last Updated: A woman accused Swami Pradiptananda of Bharat Sevashram Sangha of raping her under the guise of offering a job for over a decade. An investigation is underway. A woman has accused Swami Pradiptananda, also known as Kartik Maharaj of Bharat Sevashram Sangha, of raping her under the guise of offering her a job. According to her complaint, the alleged abuse spanned over a decade, with ashram members involved and forcing her to undergo an abortion. This revelation comes a day after the woman's initial accusation. The woman in her complaint said that she met Kartik Maharaj in 2012 when he offered her a job at Chanak Adivasi Abasik Balika Vidyalaya, in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, where, she alleged, he raped her. According to the Hindustan Times, in her complaint, she further alleged that she received a call from Kartik Maharaj on June 12, and he asked her to meet him on June 13 near Berhampore Correctional Home. 'I talked to Kartik Maharaj over the phone on June 12. Two men from the ashram came to see me on June 13 and said they would take me to Beldanga. When I boarded their car, these men threatened me and asked me not to contact Kartik Maharaj ever again. Thereafter, they pushed me out of the vehicle and drove off," the three-page complaint written in Bengali said. Based on her complaint, an FIR was filed at the Lalbagh police station in Murshidabad district on Thursday under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. ASP Raspreet Singh stated that an investigation is currently underway. However, as of the time of reporting, the Murshidabad police had not yet taken any action against the monk. While addressing a public event in Beldanga, Kartik Maharaj sought to defend himself. 'I can only say that monks are not allowed to spend nights at the women's hostel of the ashram," he said. Among the nine Padma Shri awardees from West Bengal this year, Kartik Maharaj was essentially an unknown figure until May 2024. This was when a controversy arose after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee targeted a group of monks during her campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. Defending the seer, BJP's Berhampore unit chief Malay Mahajan said, 'This is dirty politics by TMC, which wants to defame Kartik Maharaj. The Hindus will retaliate." TMC spokesperson Jay Prakash Majumdar said, 'No sin can be washed off or justified… Law should take its course without seeing his faith." First Published: June 28, 2025, 08:59 IST
Time of India
18 hours ago
- Time of India
Woman lodges rape plaint against Kartik Maharaj
1 2 3 Behrampore: A woman filed a complaint at Nabagram police station on Thursday alleging repeated rape by Padma Shri recipient Swami Pradiptanandaji, also known as Kartik Maharaj, secretary of Bharat Sevashram Sangha in Murshidabad's Beldanga. Police have launched an investigation into the allegations. The complainant stated that she had sought a teaching position at Bharat Sevashram Sangha and was accommodated on Chanak Adivasi Balika Vidyapith hostel's fourth floor from Jan 2013, following assurance from Kartik Maharaj that she would be hired. She alleged that he raped her on the vacant floor, promising permanent employment. In June 2013, the woman said, she got pregnant and was forced to undergo an abortion at private facility in Behrampore. She claimed head teacher Subhadra Mondal and another colleague were in attendance. She was then asked to vacate the hostel, and was promised that she would get a salary at home. The payments ceased, though she continued visiting the ashram fortnightly until 2019. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata The survivor's statement reads: "I telephoned the Maharaj on June 12 and he told me to wait near minority office the next evening. Two persons took me on a four wheeler promising that they will take me to Maharaj and but going some distance they pushed me from the SUV, and warned me not try to contact him anymore." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cuối cùng, chơi miễn phí game chiến thuật hay nhất 2025! Sea of Conquest Phát ngay Undo "I want to unveil the real face of such a Maharaj so that he can't victimise any woman in future," she added. Responding to the allegations, Kartik Maharaj said: "Time will reveal everything. This is a conspiracy against me to malign my name and fame. There are so many women employed in our ashram and many female disciples. Ask them; everyone will say we respect women like our mothers. You can even contact the complainant's father or family members." BJP's South Murshidabad district president Malay Mahajan held a press conference supporting the senior monk. "It's a conspiracy against the respected Maharaj following the chief minister's complaint. Her counterparts manufactured this fabricated and false complaint as the Maharaj is good organiser and led a rally of monks against state govt's inability to save Hindus from torture. We condemn this and, if needed, we will start a movement if police harass him in the name of inquiry. " CM Mamata Banerjee had last year accused Kartik Maharaj of fanning communal tensions in Beldanga and intimidating voters at polling stations. Trinamool Congress, in a statement on X, said: "A close ally of @BJP4India, Kartik Maharaj recently awarded the Padma Shri on special recommendation of PM @narendramodi's Govt, stands accused of repeatedly raping a woman inside a school building in Murshidabad. In a country where saints and seers are revered, it is appalling that such individuals are defiling the very sanctity they claim to uphold. We demand a thorough, impartial investigation and the harshest punishment if found guilty. No political proximity should shield the accused. @NCWIndia must break its silence and take immediate cognizance."
India Today
21-04-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Why RSS centenary plan in Bengal is buzzing with electoral undercurrents
Over the coming year, poll-bound West Bengal is set to witness an unprecedented 300 or more Hindu religious events, ostensibly to commemorate the centenary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). But political watchers also see behind this itinerary a saffron camp strategy to polarise to the ideological weight of these events is the planned participation of high-profile Hindu religious figures, some of whom are no strangers to controversy. Among them is Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, who heads the Bageshwar Dham in Madhya Pradesh and has made headlines for sermons allegedly laced with majoritarian to BJP insiders, Shastri is likely to visit the Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency in the coming months. Basirhat, with its overwhelming Muslim majority and current representation by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in all seven assembly segments, was one of the focal points of the Lok Sabha polls in 2024. It is here that a political fiasco unfolded in Sandeshkhali over the alleged lawlessness of a TMC strongman and his prominent figure expected to pay a visit is Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Swami Rambhadracharya (Giridhar Mishra), a blind religious leader known for his involvement in the Ram Janmabhoomi legal battle. The symbolic significance of these visits, especially to communally-sensitive constituencies, is hard to ignore. Also slated to participate is Kartik Maharaj, or Swami Pradeeptananda of the Bharat Sevashram Sangh, a spiritual body seen as associated with the broader Hindutva fold. His antagonism with chief minister Mamata Banerjee and the TMC is known. Kartik Maharaj was recently conferred with the Padma BJP leaders are tightlipped about the scale and intent of the campaign, sources in the RSS and its affiliates, including the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), have confirmed that extensive preparations are underway. These events will apparently be called 'Hindu Jagaran Utsav'; their size will vary in scale—from small local gatherings to grand congregations—all purportedly aimed at mobilising religious sentiment in Bengal, where identity politics has deepened over the years with far-reaching consequences.A particularly telling remark came from Amiya Sarkar, the east zone secretary of the VHP. 'After the Murshidabad incident (Waqf law protests), Hindus are trying to consolidate,' asserted Sarkar. While he claimed that the VHP was not directly organising the events, he confirmed that several Hindu religious leaders were in touch with the organisation. 'The Naga sadhus from north Bengal are already in touch with us. They want our support for a religious event,' he district, with a significant Muslim population, has seen sporadic violence and politically-charged narratives that threaten its legacy of coexistence. In this context, the timing of such mass-scale Hindu religious events isn't seen by all as purely Roy, prachar pramukh (publicity head) of the RSS's south Bengal chapter, confirmed that the Sangh's centenary celebrations would begin in Bengal from Mahalaya in September, diverging from the rest of the country where these are scheduled to start from Vijaya Dashami, the traditional founding day of the RSS back in 1925. 'Such events are going to be organised across India,' said Roy. 'But in Bengal, celebrations for our centenary will begin from Mahalaya.'advertisementWhile such religious congregations are presented as cultural revivals or spiritual awakenings, the context in Bengal paints a different picture. The state finds itself increasingly embattled by the overt communal binaries seen in parts of northern India, with the growing frequency of communal flashpoints shifting the makes the RSS centenary celebrations particularly potent in Bengal is the undercurrent of Hindu mobilisation in the run-up to the assembly elections in 2026. With the BJP trying to expand its footprint beyond traditional strongholds and the TMC—notwithstanding its superlative showing in the assembly elections in 2021 and the parliamentary polls last year—battling anti-incumbency alongside accusations of minority appeasement, the stage is ripe for identity-driven argue that the RSS and its affiliates are not merely celebrating a centenary but orchestrating a psychological campaign aimed at 'awakening' the Hindu vote-bank. This approach, carefully calibrated through religious events, godmen's sermons and spiritual symbolism, allows the BJP-RSS to work around constitutional restrictions on religious campaigning while still nudging the communal needle, they say. As an independent political watcher, who wished not to be named, put it: 'Under the pretext of the RSS centenary celebrations, Hindutva would be pitched as the primary plank for the polls next year. It is all evident.'advertisementWhile such events may be occurring across India, the implications in Bengal are uniquely charged. Here, electoral gains depend not only on consolidating Hindu voters but also on fragmenting the Opposition's secular plank. Religious events, when deployed as instruments of political engineering, blur the lines between devotion and Bengal enters yet another cycle of high-stakes politics, the real test will be whether civil society, Opposition parties and secular institutions can resist this tide of religious instrumentalism, or whether the stage is being set for a new era of competitive communalism cloaked in saffron to India Today MagazineMust Watch
