Published on July 2, 2024 at 12:29 p.m.
Ram Bahadur Bomjan appears handcuffed during a news conference at the Central Bureau of Investigation in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. – © Niranjan Shrestha / AP / SIPA
A Nepalese court on Monday sentenced 1is July a guru to 10 years in prison for sexual assaults on minors. His followers consider him a reincarnation of Buddha.
Ram Bahadur Bomjan, nicknamed “Little Buddha,” gained notoriety as a teenager, with his followers attributing to him the ability to meditate for months, motionless, without water, food or sleep. Last week, he was found guilty of sexual assault on children by the court in the city of Sarlahi (southern). Monday 1is In July, Sadan Adhikari, a court clerk, said he had “been sentenced to 10 years in prison” and also fined 500,000 Nepalese rupees, the equivalent of 3,489 euros.
The 33-year-old guru is supported by devoted followers. He has long been accused of physically and sexually assaulting followers and has been on the run from authorities for several years. In January, he was arrested near the capital Kathmandu. Police said 30 million Nepalese rupees (more than 200,000 euros) in cash was found during his arrest, along with foreign currency.
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Rape and disappearances
Dozens of complaints of violence were filed against him in 2010. He said he beat the victims because they disturbed his meditation. An 18-year-old nun accused him in 2018 of raping her in a monastery. The following year, police opened another investigation after families reported the disappearance of four of his followers. The investigation has yielded no results to date.
Before he went into hiding, Ram Bahadur Bomjan could gather tens of thousands of people to witness his so-called miraculous jungle meditations. At the age of 16, he disappeared for nine months in a wilderness area of eastern Nepal. Buddhist monks held 24-hour vigils to pray for his safe return.
