Pritam Bhattarai
Kathmandu, Jan 10: The police have made public Ram Bahadur Bomjan amid a press conference here today. Bomjan, who claims himself as a ‘little Buddha’ and has been accused of child sexual abuse, murder and fraud, was arrested on Tuesday from his house in Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu by a team of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), Nepal Police.
According to the police, Bomjan has been leading a luxurious lifestyle. He owns a vehicle (Toyota Fortuner) worth over Rs 20 million, KTM Duke (390 cc) worth more than Rs 800,000, a crossfire motorcycle worth over Rs 600,000 and a Yamaha RayZR scooter worth over Rs 200,000.
He also provided Rs 30 million in advance to a company to purchase a Toyota Land Cruiser worth Rs 50 million, said the police.
The police also confiscated 30 million Nepali currency, and currencies of various 17 countries equal to Rs 3 million, of which legal sources have not been established. Besides, the police seized 14 mobile phones, two laptops and five iPads, and 20 pen drives.
Who is Bomjan
Hailing from Bara district, Bomjan started gaining attraction and popularity from his followers and the media when he in the year 2005 left his home and started meditating for months near a forest. He was 15 years old then. He was compelled to leave his house and follow the path of Gautam Buddha as he was instructed in his dream to do so, he claimed. Following this, he claimed that he was an incarnation of Buddha, and his followers started believing him.
His fame increased for allegedly meditating for months without food, water and sleep.
In between, he went missing. Again in 2007, he was seen preaching to his followers in a forest, around 100 miles south of Kathmandu, the federal capital of Nepal.
But he has been mired in many controversies.
His controversies
In 2010, he was under investigation for attacking the villagers in a forest. But, he refuted the allegation saying that they were intentionally disturbing his meditation.
In 2012, the police claimed that a Slovak woman, one of his followers, was released from his Ashram. But, other claims said the woman was voluntarily released after reports of kidnapping.
In 2018, he was accused of raping an 18-year-old nun. In the case, the Sarlahi district court issued an arrest warrant against him.
The District Attorney Office in Sarlahi demanded 12 to 15 years of jail term for Ram Bahadur Bomjan and his two aides, Gyan Kumar Bomjan and Jit Bahadur Tamang, for their involvement in the sexual exploitation of the minor.
In 2019, he was under investigation after the families lodged complaints that four of his devotees went missing from his many Ashrams.
