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New Delhi
CNN
—
Authorities in Nepal raided one of many ashrams of a religious chief – whose supporters consider he’s the reincarnation of Buddha – whereas investigating the disappearance of 4 of his followers.
Uma Prasad Chaturvedi, a spokesman for Nepal’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), mentioned police started looking out the ashram, a sort of religious monastery, north of the capital, Kathmandu, after getting a tip {that a} physique was buried there.
The police search of the premises didn’t uncover any human stays.
The 4 folks lacking, two males and two girls, worshipped at different ashrams related to Ram Bahadur Bomjan, in keeping with Chaturvedi. Their households haven’t heard from them in additional than two years, he mentioned.
“We don’t have complaints particularly towards Bomjan,” Charurvedi mentioned. “Since these lacking persons are lacking from his ashram, we could need to query him finally. However we haven’t executed that simply but.”
He mentioned followers who dwell on the ashram are being questioned.
Bomjan couldn’t be reached for remark. Officers with Bodhi Shrawan Dharma Sangha, the group that manages Bomjan’s ashrams, issued an announcement that didn’t handle the disappearances, however mentioned, “we’re unhappy and upset concerning the latest media studies.”
The assertion made no particular point out of the 4 lacking people.
The case has thrown Bomjan, 28, into the highlight greater than a decade after he first gained worldwide consideration. In 2005, on the age of 15, he retreated into the jungle to wish for 10 months, native media reported on the time. In accordance with his followers, he did so with out meals, sleep or water.
These claims have been by no means independently verified, however it led some to laud him because the reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in Nepal some 2,500 years in the past, and later grew to become recognized merely as Buddha, which means “enlightened one.”
Bomjan was rapidly dubbed in native media because the “Buddha boy,” which helped to additional his fame, as hundreds from throughout the nation and neighboring India traveled to see him whereas he was within the jungle.
Bomjan started preaching about two years later, in keeping with his web site, attracting an viewers of about 3,000 folks throughout his first sermon. He and his supporters then used his fame to arrange a community of ashrams round Nepal devoted to his teachings.
However not too long ago, Bomjan has been dogged by allegations of wrongdoing. An 18-year-old nun publicly accused him of raping her at one in all his ashrams in September 2018.
Kunda Dev, a police inspector in Sarlahi district – the place the alleged incident came about – mentioned the nun by no means filed an official police criticism and so police by no means filed fees. Dhiraj Pratap Singh, a senior superintendent at Kathmandu Metropolitan Police’s crime division additionally advised CNN that no formal criticism was ever made to authorities.
Bodhi Shrawan Dharma Sangha officers denied the rape allegations in a information convention that month, calling them “utterly made-up.”
Neither the president nor the final secretary of Bodhi Shrawan Dharma Sangha returned CNN’s cellphone calls in search of touch upon the rape allegation and the lacking worshippers.
In its assertion Saturday, Bodhi Shrawan Dharma Sangha mentioned: “We enchantment to our followers and supporters to not get distracted, and stay affected person and calm. … We wish to request our followers and supporters to proceed to stroll the trail of reality, and proceed to assist the Nepal authorities to search out the right information.”
The assertion made no particular point out of the 4 lacking people or the assault allegations.
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