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

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The sentence will be decided at the hearing scheduled for July 1.

Om Prakash Thakur, Kathmandu Post, June 24, 2024, Sarlahi: The Sarlahi District Court on Monday convicted Ram Bahadur Bomjan, a controversial “spiritual leader”, of child sexual abuse. A single-judge bench of Jeevan Kumar Bhandari convicted Bomjan, said court registrar Sadan Adhikari.

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

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

Bomjan, who has been dubbed “Buddha Boy” by some Western media, is currently in judicial custody in Jaleshwar Jail. A bench of Justice Bishnu Prasad Regmi had remanded him in judicial custody on January 11.

A team from the Central Investigation Bureau arrested Bomjan on January 9 from a house in Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu.

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

In the indictment, District Attorney Sarlahi demanded 12 to 15 years in prison for Bomjan and his two helpers for their alleged involvement in the sexual exploitation of the minors.

In the chargesheet, Bomjan, the main suspect, is accused of raping a 15-year-old girl while posing as an Ani (nun) while staying at his ashram (hermitage) in Pattharkot, Sarlahi.

The indictment against the main defendant, Bomjan, states that he raped the minor by luring her into his private chambers on August 4, 2016 at 9:20 p.m.

He is also accused of threatening the girl with consequences if she told others about the incident.

On February 23, 2020, after the victim turned 18, a complaint was filed against him at the Sarlahi District Police Office.

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

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

Bomjan rose to fame in 2005 after he allegedly meditated for months without eating, drinking or sleeping, prompting the media to dub him the “Buddha Boy.” After he awoke from 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, who hails from Mirik, Darjeeling. Their marriage has sparked controversy as according to Tamang tradition, he is not allowed to marry his current wife or have children with her. Dipsikha belongs to the Dumzan subcaste of the Tamang people. In Tamang tradition, Bomzan and Dumzan are considered siblings and are not allowed to marry.

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

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

“The Sarlahi District Court has convicted him of sexual abuse of a minor. The court will pronounce its verdict in the case on July 1,” court official Sadan Adhikari confirmed to ANI over the phone.

The 34-year-old, who was originally called Ram Lal Bomjan and has been known as “Buddha Boy”, the reincarnation of Gautam Buddha, since 2005, is accused of rape and enforced disappearance at several police stations in the Himalayan state.

Bomjan came to public attention in 2005 after he claimed to have meditated for months without eating, drinking or sleeping. Soon after his meditation, he established ashrams in Bara, Sarlahi, Sindhupalchowk and Sindhuli districts.

In early July 2020, the Sarlahi District Court registered a case of sexual exploitation filed by a minor student (then aged 15). According to the chargesheet, the incident took place at the ashram in Pattharkot, Sarlahi.

Soon after the complaint was filed, the police found that four of his disciples had also disappeared from his ashram. In June 2020, a joint team of the CIB, Bagmati Provincial Police and district police offices in Kavre, Sindhupalchowk, and Sarlahi conducted a raid on his ashram in Pairey, Sindhuli, but could not find him.

The victim accused Bomjan of raping her on the night of August 4, 2016. The minor also stated that she kept it a secret after Bomjan threatened her not to tell anyone about the incident or face the consequences.

Bomjan was revered and regarded as the reincarnation of Gautam Buddha. He had a considerable number of disciples, but had been on the run since early 2020. He was charged with sexual exploitation by female disciples.

A local news portal, Setopati.com, reported the incident in a series that brought to light the incidents that took place in the ashrams of an alleged spiritual leader.

In addition to the charges of sexual exploitation, the “Buddha Boy” was also accused of causing the disappearance of five people – his students – in different districts.

A local news portal, Setopati.com, reported the incident in a series that brought to light the incidents that took place in the ashrams of an alleged spiritual leader.

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