Women stage stir demanding arrest of Kartik Maharaj

Kolkata: Women in Murshidabad’s Nabagram staged a protest on Tuesday, demanding the immediate arrest of Kartik Maharaj, who has been accused of repeatedly raping a woman.

The police have already summoned him following a formal complaint lodged by the woman.

According to the complaint, in 2013, Kartik Maharaj helped her secure a job at a school in Nabagram, where she was given accommodation on the fifth floor of the school building. The woman alleged that Kartik Maharaj later visited her there and raped her on multiple occasions.

She further claimed that he took her to an ashram in Beldanga, where she was sexually assaulted over a period of five consecutive days. When she became pregnant, he allegedly coerced her into undergoing an abortion.

The ruling party in Bengal also alleged that Kartik Maharaj repeatedly raped a woman, blackmailed her and forced her to undergo abortion. A video also went viral where the victim alleged Maharaj of sexual abuse.

Trinamool Congress on X said: “@BJP4India’s rapist ally Kartik Maharaj is finally facing the heat, and rightly so. Today, the women of Nabagram, Murshidabad took to the streets demanding his arrest for repeatedly raping a helpless woman, blackmailing her, and forcing her to undergo an abortion.”

The ruling party in Bengal warned that the BJP’s attempt to shield Kartik Maharaj will turn out to be a futile exercise. It also asserted that he will not be able to escape.

“@BJP4India’s rapist ally Kartik Maharaj is finally facing the heat, and rightly so. BJP will bend over backwards to bury the case because shielding sexual predators runs in their blood. But let it be known: he will not escape. For the trauma he inflicted, Kartik Maharaj will face the full wrath of the law,” Trinamool Congress said.

Trinamool Congress posted a video on social media where Kartik Maharaj was found addressing a gathering in 2024 and allegedly stated that women get raped because they “cross the Lakshman Rekha”. “@BJP4India’s rapist ally Kartik Maharaj, while addressing a gathering on December 18, 2024, said women get raped because they “cross the Lakshman Rekha,”” Trinamool Congress said.

It further questioned: “Is that why he raped a defenseless woman multiple times, blackmailed her, and forced her to undergo an abortion? Is that why he decided to “discipline” her by violating her body and dignity, because she dared to exist beyond his twisted version of “morality”?”

Trinamool on X also stated: “His REGRESSIVE, MISOGYNISTIC, PREDATORY MINDSET was never hidden. What’s confounding is that this very man was honoured with the Padma Shri on the recommendation of PM @narendramodi. In today’s BJP, being a sexual predator is practically a credential. That’s the real Lakshman Rekha they’ve drawn.”

In the rape case filed against Padma Shri awardee Kartik Maharaj, police have summoned him to appear before the investigating officer at Nabagram Police Station on Tuesday. Kartik Maharaj, associated with the Murshidabad unit of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha, has approached the Calcutta High Court seeking the quashing of the FIR lodged against him in connection with the alleged incident, which dates back to 2013.

The petition was admitted on Tuesday by a single-judge Bench of Justice Jay Sengupta and is scheduled for hearing on Wednesday.