Nepal’s spiritual leader known as ‘Buddha Boy’ arrested on charges of rape and kidnapping

Controversial spiritual leader Ram Bahadur Bomjan appears in handcuffs during a press conference at the Central Investigation Bureau in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. Nepal's police arrested the spiritual leader believed by many to be reincarnation of Buddha on charges he sexually assaulted a minor and is suspected of his involvement in disappearances of at least four of his followers from his camps, officials said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Binaj Gurubacharya, The Associated Press, Jan. 10, 2024,  KATHMANDU:  A controversial Nepalese spiritual leader known as “Buddha Boy” was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a minor and involvement in the disappearance of at least four of his followers from his camps, police said Wednesday.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan is believed by many Nepalese to be the reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in southwestern Nepal some 2,600 years ago and became revered as Buddha. Buddhist scholars have been skeptical of Bamjan’s claims.

Bamjan was arrested late Tuesday from his house in a suburb of Kathmandu, the country’s capital, according to Nabaraj Adhikari of the Central Investigation Bureau.

Police brought him before the media in handcuffs on Wednesday and said that he had tried to flee by jumping two floors from a window when the officers arrived but was unsuccessful and was taken into custody.

Officials also displayed a stack of Nepalese banknotes they said was equivalent to $227,000 and other foreign currencies amounting to $23,000 seized from the house at the time of the arrest.

Bamjan is expected to be taken to a court in southern Nepal, where the alleged crimes occurred, to appear before a judge there.

Several dozen of his followers gathered later Wednesday outside the Central Investigation Bureau offices in Katmandu where Bamjan was being held but were pushed back by riot police.

Bamjan, also known as Buddha Boy, became famous in southern Nepal in 2005 when many believed he was able to meditate without moving for months while sitting beneath a tree with no food or water. He has remained popular despite accusations of sexually and physically assaulting his followers. 

His popularity has since declined but he still maintains camps in southern Nepal where thousands of his followers come to live and worship him or to visit.

Buddhism, founded in India around 500 B.C. is considered the world’s fourth-largest religious tradition after Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.

The Kathmandu Post: A team of the Central Investigation Bureau on Tuesday arrested Ram Bahadur Bomjan, a controversial ‘spiritual leader’. An official at the bureau said Bomjan was arrested from a house in Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu.

Police were searching for him for the past few years for different charges including sexual exploitation of his disciples.

In July 2020, a case of sexual exploitation was filed against Bomjan in the District Court in Sarlahi. The chargesheet accuses Bomjan of raping a 15-year-old girl who was staying in his ashram in Pattharkot, Sarlahi, as an Aani (Nun). The case stated that he raped the minor by luring her to his private quarters at 9:20pm on August 4, 2016. He has further been charged with threatening the girl with consequences if she relayed the incident to others.

Bomjan was also wanted by the authorities for the disappearances of four of his disciples.

In June 2020, a joint team from the Central Investigation Bureau, the Bagmati Provincial Police and the district police offices in Kavre, Sindhupalchok and Sarlahi raided his ashram in Pairey Sindhuli, but could not locate him.

He had shot to fame in 2005 for allegedly meditating for months without food, water or sleep. He had been dubbed the ‘Buddha Boy’ by the media. After emerging from his meditation, he and his followers had set up ashrams in Bara, Sarlahi, Sindhupalchok and Sindhuli districts.