Latest news with #SwamiPradiptananda
Hindustan Times
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Calcutta high court grants relief to Padma awardee monk in alleged rape case
Kolkata: The Calcutta high court on Wednesday directed the West Bengal government not to take any immediate action against 2025 Padma Shri awardee monk, Swami Pradiptananda, against whom the Murshidabad district police had filed a first information report (FIR) last week after a local woman accused him of rape, lawyers who were present in court said. The Calcutta high court. (File Photo) The court also accepted the monk's request for an in-camera hearing, which is scheduled to begin on Thursday. Swami Pradiptananda, popularly known as Kartik Maharaj, is head of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha's Beldanga ashram in Murshidabad. Skipping a police summon for interrogation he moved the court on Tuesday, seeking quashing of the FIR. 'The bench of justice Jay Sengupta heard Kartik Maharaj's petition on Wednesday and directed the government not to take any immediate action on the basis of the FIR and wait for the hearing instead,' lawyer Koustav Bagchi, who represented the monk, told HT. Lawyer Sandipan Ganguly, who represented the alleged rape survivor, objected to the appeal for in-camera hearing, saying monks who faced similar charges in the past were tried in open court. Ganguly cited the example of Gujarat's Asaram Bapu. 'Reacting to this, the bench expressed surprise on why the Murshidabad woman did not file any complaint in 13 years,' Bagchi said. The woman has alleged in her complaint lodged at the Lalbagh police station that Swami Pradiptananda raped her repeatedly between 2012 and 2019 by promising her a job. She has alleged that she was forced to undergo an abortion in 2013. The woman has also claimed to have talked to the monk over the phone on June 12 and alleged that two men sent by him threatened her the following day. The monk has shared dais with Bharatiya Janata Party's Bengal leaders such as Suvendu Adhikari several times in recent months. In May 2024, chief minister Mamata Banerjee publicly accused him of helping the BJP in the then ongoing Lok Sabha polls. The monk sent a legal notice to Banerjee, demanding an unconditional apology, but she stuck to her allegations. The ruling Trinamool Congress unleashed a fresh attack on the monk after he moved the high court. Bengal BJP leaders have alleged that the TMC was trying to frame Kartik Maharaj with trumped up charges.
United News of India
02-07-2025
- United News of India
No coercive action against Bharat Sevashram Sangha monk Kartik Maharaj
States » East Kolkata, July 2 (UNI) There will be no coercive action against Bharat Sevashram Sangha monk Swami Pradiptananda, also known as Kartik Maharaj, against whom an FIR was filed accusing him of raping a woman in 2012 at his Beldanga ashram in Murshidabad, Calcutta High Court sources said today. State advocate general Kishore Dutta assured the court that since he was unable to argue today owing to his health condition, no coercive action would be taken against the monk. Padma Shri awardee Kartik Maharaj has been accused of repeatedly raping a woman after luring her with a job promise at a school in December 2012. The woman in her complaint alleged that the Maharaj threatened and forced her to undergo an abortion. Kartik Maharaj, the chief of Bharat Sevashram Sangha Beldanga ashram in Murshidabad yesterday filed an application seeking quashing of the FIR before a bench of Justice Jay Sengupta. The matter is expected to come up on Thursday, sources said. UNI PC PRS
Time of India
01-07-2025
- Time of India
Kartik Maharaj moves HC, seeks cover from coercive action
1 2 3 Kolkata: Padma Shri awardee Swami Pradiptananda, known as Kartik Maharaj, on Tuesday moved Calcutta High Court seeking protection from coercive action in a rape complaint filed against him. The matter was mentioned before Justice Jay Sengupta and is likely to be heard on Wednesday. The development came after a legal notice was issued asking Kartik Maharaj to appear at Nabagram police station for questioning. Beldanga police station cops delivered the notice, summoning him on July 1, to Bharat Sevashram Sangha authorities on Monday. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata In her complaint filed with Nabagram police, the woman alleged that Kartik Maharaj promised her a job at one of the ashram's schools in Dec 2012. The survivor said she was accommodated at the school hostel in Jan 2013, with an assurance that she would soon be hired. "However, almost every day he would take me to a room on the fifth floor of the premises and rape me," she said. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Doctor's Day 2025 , messages and quotes!
Hindustan Times
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Bengal: Padma awardee monk moves Calcutta HC seeking FIR quashing in rape case
Kolkata: The Calcutta high court on Tuesday accepted a petition from 2025 Padma Shri awardee Swami Pradiptananda, head of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha's Beldanga ashram in Murshidabad district, seeking quashing of the first information report (FIR) police filed last week after a local woman accused him of rape. Swami Pradiptananda. (File Photo) Lawyers aware of the development said the monk's counsels filed the petition before the single bench of justice Jay Sengupta. The bench is likely to hold a hearing on Wednesday. Murshidabad's Lalbagh police station, which registered the case on June 26, sent a summon notice to the monk, popularly known as Kartik Maharaj, on Monday, asking him to appear by 10 am on Tuesday for questioning. The monk, who was in Kolkata, skipped the summon. 'Kartik Maharaj moved the high court on Tuesday afternoon,' one of his aides told HT, requesting anonymity. The monk did not make any comment and avoided the media. The complainant alleged that Swami Pradiptananda had raped her repeatedly between 2012 and 2019 by promising her a job. In the complaint letter, a copy of which was seen by HT, she said she was forced to undergo an abortion in 2013. She also claimed to have talked to Swami Pradiptananda over the phone on June 12 and alleged that two men sent by him threatened her the following day. The monk has shared dais with Bharatiya Janata Party's Bengal leaders such as Suvendu Adhikari several times in recent months. In May 2024, chief minister Mamata Banerjee publicly accused him of helping the BJP in the then ongoing Lok Sabha polls. The monk sent a legal notice to Banerjee, demanding an unconditional apology, but she stuck to her allegations. The ruling Trinamool Congress unleashed a fresh attack on the monk after he moved the high court. The party circulated a video of a 2014 event in which the monk purportedly said Hindu women are raped because they cross the Lakshaman Rekha, something Muslim women never do. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video. TMC also ciruclated videos of local women of Nabagram, protesting the alleged rape and demanding punishment for the monk at an agitation on Tuesday. Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar and his party colleagues alleged that the TMC was trying to frame the monk with trumped up charges. 'The veracity of the allegation should be investigated first. Why wasn't any complaint lodged in all these years?' Majumdar said on Monday. Police served the summon notice on Monday amid rising protests in Bengal over the alleged June 25 gangrape of a 24-year-old student inside the South Calcutta Law College by one former and two current students, who have been arrested after the incident. The accused were found to be active workers of the students' wing of the ruling party. The BJP has made this a political issue in the run-up to the 2026 assembly polls. Dissociating itself from the accused in the gangrape case, TMC has targeted Swami Pradiptananda to counter the BJP.
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Time of India
Kartik Maharaj gets police summons for questioning
Murshidabad/Kolkata: Padma Shri awardee Swami Pradiptananda, popularly known as Kartik Maharaj, was issued a legal notice asking him to face questioning in connection with a rape allegation. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The notice, which was delivered by cops from Beldanga police station to Bharat Sevashram Sangha authorities on Monday, said he must appear for questioning at Nabagram police station at 10am on July 1 to verify the facts and circumstances related to the allegations. Kartik Maharaj, however, told TOI that he would not be able to appear for the summons because he was travelling. "I have met lawyers in this regard and will take legal action. I have faith in the judiciary, and despite some harsh sections being slapped on me wrongfully, I am confident that the truth will prevail," he said. Police said they would decide on the next step after studying the response from Kartik Maharaj or his legal team. The district's senior police officers had spoken to the survivor extensively last week. The Beldanga chapter of Bharat Sevashram Sangha is yet to issue an official statement on the allegations. In her complaint filed with Nabagram police, the woman alleged that Kartik Maharaj promised her a job at one of the ashram's schools in Dec 2012. The survivor said she was accommodated at the school hostel in Jan 2013, with an assurance that she would soon be hired. "However, almost every day he would take me to a room on the fifth floor of the premises and rape me," she said.
