Padma Awardee Monk Accused Of Rape, Case Filed

A woman in West Bengal has accused Padma Shri awardee monk Kartik Maharaj of raping her several times 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 allegations.

Maharaj was among this year's recipients of the Padma Shri award - the fourth highest civilian award - that is given for distinguished service.

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 on its premises. She was also given accommodation at the ashram.

In her complaint with Nabagram police earlier this week, the woman alleged Maharaj had promised her a job at Chanak Adivasi Abasik Balika Vidyalaya - one of the ashram's schools - when the duo met in December 2012. 

The survivor said she was also accommodated at the school hostel in January 2013, with an assurance that she would soon be hired. "However, he would almost every day take me to a room on the fifth floor of the premises and rape me," she said in a complaint written in Bengali. 

Police sources confirmed that a case has been registered against Kartik Maharaj under relevant sections. An investigation is currently underway.

However, Maharaj has denied any wrongdoing. He also said that there is provision of accommodation at the said ashram mentioned by the woman. "I am a sanyasi. Such obstacles are not uncommon in the life of a monk," he said.

The case has garnered attention due to the monk's close ties with the BJP. Previously, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had accused him of helping the saffron party in the elections and working against the Trinamool Congress. Maharaj had sent a legal notice in 2024, seeking an unconditional apology from Banerjee for "tarnishing" the image of his ashram.

The incident comes at a time when the ruling Trinamool government is facing protests after a law student alleged that she was gang-raped inside a Kolkata college campus by an alumnus and two senior students.