Nepal’s “Buddha Boy” convicted of raping a minor: verdict on July 1

The hearing scheduled for July 1 will determine the sanction.

Om Prakash Thakur, Kathmandu Post, June 24, 2024, Sarlahi: The Sarlahi district court on Monday convicted Ram Bahadur Bomjan, a controversial ‘spiritual leader’, for child sexual abuse. A single bench comprising Justice Jeevan Kumar Bhandari convicted Bomjan, court registrar Sadan Adhikari said.

A hearing is scheduled for July 1 to determine the penalty.

The court acquitted Bomjan’s two aides, Jit Bahadur Tamang and Gyan Bahadur Bomjan, in the same case.

Bomjan, nicknamed “Buddha Boy” by some Western media outlets, is currently in judicial custody at Jaleshwar Jail. On January 11, a court of Justice Bishnu Prasad Regmi had remanded him in judicial custody.

On January 9, a Central Bureau of Investigation team arrested Bomjan from a house in Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu.

Bomjan had been in hiding since the Sarlahi District Court on February 6, 2020, issued an arrest warrant against him in accordance with a police request. In July 2020, a sexual exploitation complaint was filed against him in the Sarlahi District Court.

In the indictment, the Sarlahi District Prosecutor’s Office had requested 12 to 15 years in prison for Bomjan and his two assistants for their alleged involvement in the sexual exploitation of the minor.

The chargesheet accuses Bomjan, the main suspect, of raping a 15-year-old girl who was staying at his ashram (hermitage) in Pattharkot, Sarlahi, as an Ani (nun).

The complaint filed against the main accused, Bomjan, states that he raped the minor by luring her to his private quarters at 9:20 p.m. on August 4, 2016.

He was also accused of threatening the girl with consequences if she revealed the incident to others.

On February 23, 2020, when the victim was 18 years old, a complaint against him was registered at the Sarlahi district police station.

On June 18, 2020, a team from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB) of the Nepal Police raided his ashram in Ward 8 of Kamalamai Municipality in Sindhuli district, but he was not found there. Police suspected he might have fled the scene.

Five families filed complaints against him at different police stations, accusing him of murder, disappearance and sexual exploitation of his supporters.

Bomjan rose to fame in 2005 after meditating for months without food, water or sleep, leading the media to dub him the “Buddha Boy.” After coming out of his meditation, he and his followers set up ashrams in Bara, Sarlahi, Sindhupalchok and Sindhuli districts, where the alleged abuses took place, police said.

https://kathmandupost.com/province-no-2/2024/06/24/court-convicts-buddha-boy-of-child-sex-abuse

Agencies: Bomzan is married to Dipsikha, a native of Mirik, Darjeeling. Their marriage caused controversy because, according to Tamang tradition, he cannot marry or have children with his current wife. Dipsikha belongs to the Dumzan sub-caste of the Tamang people. In Tamang tradition, Bomzan and Dumzan are considered brothers and sisters and are not allowed to marry.

AINS, Kathmandu, June 24, 2024: The Sarlahi District Court on Monday convicted ‘Buddha Boy’ alias Ram Bahadur Bomjan for rape of a minor, court officials confirmed.

Nicknamed “Buddha Boy” in early 2005, the controversial spiritual leader was arrested by Nepal’s Central Bureau of Investigation on the outskirts of the capital Kathmandu and taken to Sarlahi on January 10, earlier this year.

“The Sarlahi District Court found him guilty of sexual misconduct against a minor. The court will deliver its verdict in this case on July 1,” court official Sadan Adhikari confirmed to ANI over the phone.

The 34-year-old man, initially named Ram Lal Bomjan, known since 2005 as “Buddha Boy”, or the reincarnation of Gautam Buddha, is accused of rape and forced disappearance in various police stations in this Himalayan country.

Bomjan came to public attention in 2005 after he claimed to have meditated for months without food, water or sleep. Soon after his meditation, he opened ashrams in Bara, Sarlahi, Sindhupalchowk and Sindhuli districts.

Earlier in July 2020, the Sarlahi District Court registered a sexual exploitation case filed by a minor female follower (aged 15 at the time). According to the charge sheet, the incident took place at Pattharkot ashram, Sarlahi.

Soon after filing the complaint, police found that four of his disciples had also gone missing from his ashram. In June 2020, a joint team of the CIB, Bagmati provincial police and district police offices of Kavre, Sindhupalchowk and Sarlahi conducted a raid at his ashram in Pairey, Sindhuli, but could not locate him.

The victim accused Bomjan of rape on the night of August 4, 2016. The minor also said that she hid it after receiving threats from Bomjan not to tell the incident to others, otherwise she would suffer the results.

Revered and considered the reincarnation of Gautam Buddha, Bomjan had a significant number of disciples but had been on the run since early 2020. A complaint was filed against him for sexual exploitation by female disciples.

A local news portal, Setopati.com, reported the incident in a series highlighting incidents inside the ashrams of an alleged spiritual leader.

In addition to the accusations of sexual exploitation, the nicknamed “Buddha Boy” was also accused of the disappearance of five people, his disciples, in different districts.

A local news portal, Setopati.com, reported the incident in a series highlighting incidents inside the ashrams of an alleged spiritual leader.

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