Controversial self-styled spiritual leader sentenced to 10 years in jail by Nepalese court for sexually assaulting minor

PTI, Jul 1, 2024, 7:45 PM IST

Kathmandu: A controversial self-styled spiritual leader, known as “Buddha Boy” among devotees, was on Monday sentenced to 10 years in jail by a Nepalese court for sexually assaulting a minor girl in 2016.

Ram Bahadur Bomjan, 34, was sentenced to 10 years in jail by Sarlahi District Court Judge Jeevan Kumar Bhandari, who also slapped a Rs 500,000 fine on him, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported, citing the court’s registrar Sadan Adhikari.

Last week, the single bench of Judge Bhandari found Bomjan guilty of sexually assaulting a minor girl. The court acquitted Bomjan’s two aides, Jit Bahadur Tamang and Gyan Bahadur Bomjan, in the same case, the paper said.

Bomjan, known as ‘Buddha Boy’ among devotees, is under judicial custody at Jaleshwar jail. He was arrested by a team of the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police on January 9 from a house in Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu.

Bomjan had been in hiding since the District Court, Sarlahi, on February 6, 2020, issued an arrest warrant against him as per a police request. In July 2020, a case of sexual abuse was filed against him in the District Court, Sarlahi, the paper said.

In the chargesheet, Bomjan was accused of raping a 15-year-old girl who was staying in his ashram at Pattharkot, Sarlahi, as an Ani (nun) on August 4, 2016. He was also charged with threatening the girl with consequences if she disclosed the incident to others.

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

Five families have filed complaints against him in different police offices, accusing him of murder, disappearance and sexual exploitation of his followers. The accusations regarding the disappearances of his followers are still awaiting trial.

Bomjan shot to fame in 2005 after reportedly meditating for months without food, water, or sleep, leading the media to dub him the ‘Buddha Boy’.

After emerging from his meditation, he and his followers set up ashrams in Bara, Sarlahi, Sindhupalchok and Sindhuli districts, where the alleged abuses took place, the police said.