Padma Shri awardee monk booked for rape in West Bengal, calls allegations "baseless"
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Swami Pradiptananda, widely known as Kartik Maharaj and affiliated with the Bharat Sevashram Sangha’s Beldanga unit in Murshidabad, has been named in an FIR filed on charges of rape, according to police sources on Friday.
The FIR was lodged after a woman came forward with a complaint on Thursday, alleging that she had been subjected to sexual assault by the monk over a period spanning nearly 12 years.
Maharaj has denied the allegations, describing them as “baseless.”
The complainant stated that her association with Maharaj began in 2012 when he offered her a teaching position. She took up the offer and was provided accommodation on the fifth floor of the school building. In her statement, she alleged that Maharaj began calling her to his office repeatedly, where he went on to sexually assault her on several occasions.
The woman further alleged that on June 13 this year, two individuals claiming to be Maharaj’s associates physically assaulted her and left her near a correctional facility, threatening her to sever all ties with the monk. She expressed fear that other women might have suffered similar abuse.
Police confirmed that an investigation into the claims is underway.