Nepal Jails 'Buddha Boy' For 10 Years Over Child Sex Abuse

 AP. KATHMANDU, Nepal, 2 July 2024 : — A controversial spiritual leader in Nepal known as “Buddha Boy” has been sentenced to a 10-year prison term Monday for sexually assaulting a minor, court officials said.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan — believed by some to be the reincarnation of the founder of Buddhism — was also ordered to pay $3,700 in compensation to the victim by a judge at the Sarlahi District Court in southern Nepal.

The man will have 70 days to appeal against the court order, court official Sadan Adhikari said.

Police arrested Bomjan from a suburb in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu in January on charges of sexual assault and suspicion of involvement in the disappearance of at least four of his followers.

Nepalese banknotes worth $227,000 and other foreign currencies amounting to $23,000 were seized from him at the time of the arrest, police said.

Last week the court found him guilty of sexually assaulting an underage girl.

The charges related to the disappearances of his followers are still pending trial.

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 the Buddha. Buddhist scholars have been skeptical of Bamjan’s claims.

Bamjan became famous in southern Nepal in 2005.

His popularity has declined amid accusations of sexual and physical assaults on his followers, but he still maintains camps in southern Nepal where thousands come to worship or live.

Ram Bahadur Bomjan, known as "Buddha boy" by his devotees, became famous as a teenager after followers said he could meditate motionless for months without water, food or sleep.

He was convicted of child sexual abuse last week by the court in Nepal's southern town of Sarlahi.

"He has been sentenced to 10 years in jail," Sadan Adhikari, registrar at the district court, told AFP.

Bomjan was also fined 500,000 Nepali rupees ($3,743).

The 33-year-old guru has a devout following but has long been accused of physically and sexually assaulting his followers, and had been hiding from authorities for several years.

Nepal's Central Investigation Bureau arrested him in January at a house on the outskirts of the capital Kathmandu.

Police said he was caught with bundles of cash amounting to 30 million Nepali rupees and another $22,500 in foreign currency.

Dozens of assault complaints were filed against Bomjan in 2010.

He said he beat the victims because they disturbed his meditation.

An 18-year-old nun also accused Bomjan of raping her at a monastery in 2018.

Police opened another investigation against him the following year, after family members reported the disappearance of four of his devotees from one of his ashrams.

Before he went on the run, Bomjan still commanded a legion of followers.

At one point, tens of thousands of people gathered to witness his reputed miracles of meditation deep in the jungle.

Aged 16, Bomjan disappeared for nine months to wander the wilderness of eastern Nepal, prompting a round-the-clock vigil by Buddhist monks who prayed for his safe return.