Court convicts “Buddha Boy” of child sexual abuse

The Sarlahi District Court on Monday convicted controversial “spiritual leader” Ram Bahadur Bomjan of child sexual abuse. A single-judge bench headed by Jeevan Kumar Bhandari convicted Bomjan, court clerk Sadan Adhikari said.

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.

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.