Who is Nepal 'Buddha Boy'? 33-year-old monk arrested for sexual abuse, kidnapping

A Nepali man revered as ‘Buddha boy’ has been arrested over sexual abuse allegations. The 33-year-old Ram Bahadur Bomjon, who is considered the reincarnation of Gautama Buddha by many, was arrested by the Nepalese Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) from his hideout in southern Nepal.

In the past as well, Bomjon had been part of controversies, but the recent arrest was made when at least four of his followers disappeared from his camps, police said Wednesday.

The arrest was made late Tuesday when he was trying to escape his Kathmandu house by jumping from the window, said Nabaraj Adhikari of the CIB.

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He was brought before the media in handcuffs on Wednesday amid a flood of his supporters waiting outside the CIB office.

Who is Nepal’s ‘Buddha boy’, arrested over sexual abuse allegations?

Revered as ‘Buddha boy’ by many in Nepal, Ram Bahadur Bomjon is a controversial ascetic from the Bara district. He was previously known as Palden Dorje, his monastic name. He attracted international media attention in recent times when local people started believing that he was the reincarnation of Gautama Buddha, due to perceived resemblance with the Buddhist monk.

Though many Buddhist devotees were wary of these claims and did not believe him to be anywhere near Buddha, his popularity kept growing.

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As per Bomjon’s narrative, in 2005, when he was only 15 years old, he left his home after he saw God in his dream. He claimed that in the dream God asked him to leave his home and sit amongst the roots of a pipal tree to meditate.

He sat there for more than 10 months, rarely speaking, drinking, eating or even moving, as per local legends.Thousands of people rushed to the site to see him meditating motionless for hours, days or as rumoured even months. Soon people started flooding his site, some in devotion and some in hope of spiritual occurring.

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The president of the Nepal Buddhist Council, Mahiswor Raj Bajarcharya once said that they do not believe he is Buddha and does not have any of his qualities either. Bomjon reiterated that and said that he isin fact at the level of a rinpoche.

Rinpoche is an honorific term used in the Tibetan language for showing respect to some notable or learned Lamas or teachers of Buddhism.

In a 2010 incident, Bomjon was accused of attacking a group of 17 villagers when they tried to “intentionally disturb his meditation”. To this, Bomjon said that hedealt with the matter with “minor action”.

Bomjon is now expected to be taken to a court in southern Nepalwhere the alleged crimes occurred, to appear before a judge.

(With inputs from agencies)