Nepal Spiritual Leader 'Buddha Boy' Found Guilty Of Child Sexual Abuse

A popular spiritual leader from Nepal was found guilty of child sexual abuse by the Sarlahi District Court on June 25. Ram Bahadur Bomjan was arrested on January 10 over allegations of rape of minors and disappearances from his ashram for several years. 'Buddha Boy' had been in hiding for several years before his arrest, as police were investigating allegations of rape and devotees going missing from his ashram. Nepal Police said that the 33-year-old has been accused of a long history of physical and sexual abuse of devotees, including those underage. His sentencing would be on July 1.

Bomjan became famous in his teenage years for his ability to be motionless while meditating for months without water, food, or sleep. His disciples called him a reincarnation of Buddha, thus giving him the pseudonym 'Buddha Boy'. People from across the globe visited his ashram, the Bodhi Shrawan Dharma Sangha, to meet him.

Buddha Boy Arrested 

Ram Bahadur Bomjan, 'Buddha Boy', was arrested in Kathmandu on a warrant issued for his alleged rape of a minor at an ashram in Sarlahi district. Reportedly, the police said that he was caught with bundles of cash amounting to 30 million Nepali rupees ($225,000) and another $22,500 in foreign currency. 

He had been absconding for several years, a Nepal Police spokesman Kuber Kadayat told Agence France Presse. Accusations of rape, abuse, and disappearances against him date back more than a decade. According to the police, dozens of complaints of physical abuse were filed in 2010, alleging he beat devotees for disturbing his meditation.

An 18-year-old nun first came forward with rape accusations against Bomjan in 2018. The police began another investigation against him the next year after reports of four of his devotees going missing came to light. The whereabouts of the four are still unknown, Dinesh Acharya of the Nepal Central Investigation Bureau told the media on Wednesday.

"Unless we know what situation the missing are in we are not in a position to call it murder," Acharya said. Before he went on the run, Bomjan allegedly still commanded a legion of followers as the accusations against him mounted, AFP reported.

Bomjan had tens of thousands of followers worldwide. His devotees thronged to witness his 'miracles' of meditation, deep in jungles in eastern Nepal. Reportedly, he once disappeared in a thick forest when he was 16 years old, alarming other monks and his devotees until his safe return nine months later.