[imagesource:bsds.org]

A Nepali court has sentenced the so-called ‘Buddha Boy’ to an effective 10 years behind bars for child sexual abuse on Monday.

Ram Bahadur Bamjon drew international attention in 2005 when tens of thousands of people turned up to see the teenage “Buddha Boy” sitting cross-legged under a tree in a dense forest in southeastern Nepal for nearly 10 months.

Bamjon’s followers at the time claimed the teen had spent his entire time praying in the jungle without food and water, leading some to believe he was the reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in Nepal some 2,500 years ago, and later became known simply as Buddha, meaning “enlightened one.”

Bamjon, however, became the “jailed one” after police arrested him at a house on the outskirts of Kathmandu in January on charges of child sexual abuse. The Sarlahi district court in southern Nepal said a judge had also ordered Bamjon, 33, to pay $3,750 in compensation to the victim.

[image:bsds.org]

Bomjan began preaching about two years after the forest stunt, attracting an audience of about 3,000 people during his first sermon. He and his supporters then set up a network of ashrams around Nepal dedicated to his teachings.

Bamjon was first arrested in 2020 for sexually abusing a minor girl who was allegedly living as a nun at his ashram in the Bara district, south of the capital Kathmandu.

Acting on a tip-off, police tracked the 34-year-old to the outskirts of Kathmandu and “arrested him while he was trying to flee.” They also seized more than a dozen mobile phones, five laptops and tablets, and more than $200,000 in Nepali and foreign currencies at his home.

[image:bsds.org]

During the height of his fame, Bomjan even met with the Prime Minister of Nepal, Sushil Koirala, at the Minister’s residence in Baluwatar.

During the meeting, Bomjan reassured the Prime Minister that he was “working towards the betterment, the enlightenment and the liberation of all living beings from an interreligious perspective”.

[source:cnn]