Nepal’s police have arrested a controversial spiritual leader known as “Buddha Boy” on charges of sexually assaulting a minor and involvement in the disappearances of at least four of his followers from his camps. Ram Bahadur Bamjan — believed by some to be the reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, who became revered as Buddha — was arrested late Tuesday from his house in a suburb of Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital. Police brought him before the media in handcuffs on Wednesday and said he tried unsuccessfully to flee by jumping two floors from a window when officers arrived. His followers later gathered outside the detention center where Bamjan is being held but were pushed back by riot police.
