Kolkata/Berhampore: Swami Pradiptananda, a monk of Bharat Sevashram Sangha and 2025 Padma Shri awardee, has been summoned by the Murshidabad police in connection with a rape case filed against him. The notice was served on Monday, directing him to appear at the Lalbagh police station by 10 AM on Tuesday.
The monk, popularly known as Kartik Maharaj, is in charge of the Beldanga ashram and has been seen sharing stage with senior BJP leaders, including Suvendu Adhikari. He came into political spotlight after Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in May 2024 accused him of aiding BJP during the Lok Sabha elections. In response, the monk sent Banerjee a legal notice demanding an apology, though she refused to withdraw her claims.
“Swami Pradiptananda is not here. I will go through the papers and inform him,” said Swami Anirbanananda, a fellow monk from the Beldanga ashram.
According to police, the case was registered on June 26. The complainant — a local woman — alleged that she was repeatedly raped by the monk between 2012 and 2019 under the false promise of a job at a school run by the Sangha. She also claimed she was taken by two women from the ashram to a private nursing home in 2013 to undergo an abortion.
In her statement, the woman added that she recently spoke to Swami Pradiptananda on June 12 and was threatened the next day by two men allegedly sent by him, warning her to cease contact.
The case has gained further political traction amid statewide outrage over the recent gangrape of a law student inside South Calcutta Law College — where those accused were linked to the TMC student wing.
While the BJP is alleging that the charges against the monk are fabricated and politically motivated, the TMC is hitting back, demanding equal scrutiny.
“The veracity of the charges should be investigated first. Kartik Maharaj is being framed by TMC,” BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said.
On Monday, TMC minister Shashi Panja targeted the BJP, stating:
“The BJP sends fact-finding teams everywhere but it is silent on Kartik Maharaj. Why don’t they send one to Murshidabad and get the facts from the rape victim?”
The BJP, on the other hand, claims that strategists from I-PAC, a firm hired by TMC, orchestrated the complaint to discredit the monk.
TMC responded by releasing a video, allegedly of the complainant (with her face blurred), where she says:
“I don’t know what I-PAC is. I contacted a journalist to discuss my ordeal. He advised me to seek legal help. No political party is involved in this.”
As the controversy escalates, Swami Pradiptananda’s compliance with the summon and the outcome of the investigation are now under close watch.