Buddha Boy: Police search for five missing followers of Nepalese cult leader

Ram Bahadur Bomjon became famous after apparently meditating for 10 months without food or water

Ram Bahadur Bomjon sits under a tree before an audience in 2008 (AFP/Getty Images)

Detectives are searching for five missing followers of a spiritual leader who his acolytes believe to be a reincarnation of Buddha.

Ram Bahadur Bomjon, now 28, became famous in southern Nepal in 2005 when he apparently meditated crossed-legged under a tree for 10 months without moving and with no food or water.

Nicknamed "Buddha Boy", he remains popular years later despite accusations of sexually and physically assaulting his followers.

Police have raided three of his camps and are keeping him under strict surveillance while they search for five of his missing followers.

Uma Prasad Chaturbedi, of Nepal’s Central Investigation Bureau, said jungle areas near the camps were dug up after detectives received information that bodies might be buried there, however none were found.

The families of the five missing followers, some of whom are nuns, have filed cases with the authorities seeking to find them.

According to the Kathmandu Post, among the missing are Fulmaya Rumba, Sancha Lal Waiba, Suresh Ale Magar, Chunmo Dolma Tamang, and Rita Bot.

Mr Bamjan has thousands of followers who visit him in his camps, believing he is a reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in southwestern Nepal roughly 2,500 years ago and became revered as the Buddha.

Buddhist scholars have been sceptical of the claims.