INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KATHMANDU, JANUARY 10A controversial Nepalese spiritual leader known as "Buddha Boy"
was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a minor and involvement in the disappearance of at least four of his followers from his
camps, police said Wednesday.Ram Bahadur Bamjan is believed by many Nepalese to be the reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in
southwestern Nepal some 2,600 years ago and became revered as Buddha
Buddhist scholars have been skeptical of Bamjan's claims.Bamjan was arrested late Tuesday from his house in a suburb of Kathmandu, the
country's capital, according to Nabaraj Adhikari of the Central Investigation Bureau.
Police brought him before the media
in handcuffs on Wednesday and said that he had tried to flee by jumping two floors from a window when the officers arrived but was
unsuccessful and was taken into custody.Officials also displayed a stack of Nepalese banknotes they said was equivalent to $227,000 and
other foreign currencies amounting to $23,000 seized from the house at the time of the arrest.Bamjan is expected to be taken to a court in
southern Nepal, where the alleged crimes occurred, to appear before a judge there.Several dozen of his followers gathered later Wednesday
outside the Central Investigation Bureau offices in Katmandu where Bamjan was being held but were pushed back by riot police.Bamjan, also
known as Buddha Boy, became famous in southern Nepal in 2005, when many believed he was able to meditate without moving for months while
sitting beneath a tree with no food or water
He has remained popular despite accusations of sexually and physically assaulting his followers.His popularity has since declined but he
still maintains camps in southern Nepal where thousands of his followers come to live and worship him or to visit.Buddhism, founded in India
around 500 B.C., is considered the world's fourth-largest religious tradition after Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com
