India, June 30 -- Bengal's Murshidabad district police on Monday served a summon notice to 2025 Padma Shri awardee Swami Pradiptananda, a Bharat Sevashram Sangha monk popularly known as Kartik Maharaj, asking him to appear at the Lalbagh police station by 10 am on Tuesday for questioning in the rape case filed against him last week on the basis of a complaint lodged by a local woman.

"Swami Pradiptananda is not here. I will go through the papers and inform him," said Swami Anirbanananda, another monk from the Bharat Sevashram Sangha's Beldanga ashram after receiving the notice.

Swami Pradiptananda is in charge of the Beldanga ashram. He shared dais with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Bengal leaders such as Suvendu Adhikari several times...