By Khila Nath Dhakal
KATHMANDU: Ram Bahadur Bomjan, the self-proclaimed ascetic known as the “Little Buddha,” has been acquitted by the High Court Janakpur, leading to his release from prison.
Bomjan was facing charges of sexual misconduct against a minor nun follower from Sarlahi. However, the High Court overturned the verdict previously issued by the Sarlahi District Court and cleared him of all charges on Chaitra 6, 2081 B.S. (March 19, 2025 A.D.).
The bench of Justices Narishwar Bhandari and Khemraj Bhatta at the High Court issued the acquittal.
Earlier, on Ashar 10, 2081 B.S. (June 24, 2024), the Sarlahi District Court had sentenced Bomjan to ten years in prison and imposed a compensation fine of five lakh rupees. He had appealed this decision to the High Court.
According to Deputy Registrar Sushil Yadav of the Janakpur High Court, “The ten-year imprisonment and the five-lakh rupee compensation order by the Sarlahi District Court was overturned due to insufficient evidence, resulting in the dismissal of the case.”
At the time the verdict was issued, Bomjan was being held in Sindhupalchok District Prison, where he had been transferred for a separate case related to the disappearance of another nun, Phulmaya Rumba.
“The letter arrived on the night of Chaitra 6, 2081 (19 March, 2025),” said a staff member at Sindhupalchok prison. “He left the next day, on Chaitra 7 (20 March, 2025).”
His wife, Deep Shikha, received him upon his release from prison.
In the Rumba disappearance case, the Sindhupalchok District Court had already released Bomjan on bail of three lakh rupees on Kartik 25, 2081 B.S. (November 10, 2024). Although the preliminary hearing of the case had concluded, he remained in custody until the recent acquittal.
Another follower, Sancha Lal Waiba, also went missing from Badegaon in Sindhupalchok. However, the Office of the Government Attorney has not yet pursued this case.
Back in Shrawan 8, 2081 B.S. (July, 23, 2024), another nun, Chinimaya Tamang, went missing from Bomjan’s Nuwakot-based ashram. In that case, the Nuwakot District Court had released Bomjan on general date terms.
One more complaint is pending in Bara District. Relatives of Suresh Kumar Ale, who disappeared from Jitpur Simara Sub-Metropolitan-18 (his last known address), filed a complaint with the Bara Police in Mangsir 2080 B.S. (November/December 2023). That complaint, however, has not yet been formally registered.
Another complaint had been filed about the disappearance of Rita Bot from Bagmati Municipality-12 in Sarlahi. The local police could not clarify the current status of that case.
After Bomjan’s release from prison, his driver, Nar Bahadur Waiba, visited the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) to retrieve Bomjan’s vehicle, which had been seized during his arrest.
Bomjan’s vehicle, which is under investigation in a money laundering case, had been forwarded by the CIB to the Department for Management of Proceeds Crime under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“When Waiba inquired about the vehicle, we informed him that it had been sent to the department,” said a CIB investigator.
It is unclear whether Waiba ever went to the department. However, Bishwamitra Kuinkel, spokesperson for the department, confirmed that no one had recently claimed any vehicle from their office.
In Falgun 5, 2081 B.S. (February 17, 2025), a separate case was registered at the Sarlahi District Court against Bomjan, accusing him of illegally acquiring property worth Rs 827 million. That money laundering case is still ongoing.
Despite his release from prison, authorities have not launched a search to determine Bomjan’s current whereabouts. His registered permanent address is Hattigauda in Budhanilkantha Municipality-6, Kathmandu.
It remains unclear whether he has returned there. There are suspicions that he may have entered his Sindhuli-based ashram in Bhiman, but this has not been confirmed.
“We have no information that he has entered Sindhuli,” said Sindhuli Police Chief SP Govinda Raj Kafle.
Meanwhile, Central Police Spokesperson and Deputy Inspector General Dinesh Acharya stated that inquiries are ongoing regarding Bomjan’s release and his current location.
Bomjan, whose real name is Ram Lal Bomjan, is 30 years old and hails from Nijgadh Municipality-12 in Bara District. He is popularly known by various names, including Ram Bahadur Bomjan, Tapaswi Bomjan, and “Little Buddha.”
Bomjan was arrested from Hattigauda in Kathmandu on Poush 25,2080 (January 10, 2024).
