BARIYARPUR, Nepal -- "Buddha Boy," Ram Bahadur Bomjon, has not turned up at the Gadhimai Mela by Friday, Nov. 20 although he had promised "to stop the animal sacrifice" at the twice a decade Hindu festival. Buddha Boy, who left his place of meditation at Halkhoriya on Thursday, has not shown up to stop the sacrificial killings at the festival, which is set to begin on November 24-25.
News of his possible arrival and his promise to stop the slaughter at any cost had led to the administration to mobilize additional police and government forces to prevent any untoward incident. He was expected to arrive between 3:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. and a large number of journalists and devotees had waited for him through Thursday night. There were rumors that Buddha Boy would start meditating at the sacrificial spot in front of Gadhimai temple.
“We have planned to stop him from coming to the vicinity of the sacrificial spot, out of security considerations,” a police officer there said. “If he tries to get in forcefully, we will take him under control and bring him out of the security cordon,” he added.
There has been speculation that the recent security arrangements made Buddha Boy change his mind. The security cordon was strengthened during the night to stop him from coming to the sacrificial spot. Around 1,200 security personnel including police and armed police were deployed in the area. More>>
International Coverage
- Gyanendra's kin leads campaign against animal sacrifice
At home, the campaign against the mass animal killings has been boosted by Nepal's Buddha Boy Ram Bahadur Bomjan taking up cudgels on its behalf.... (Times of India). - Indian help sought as Nepal refuses to ban ritual slaughter (India Business Blog blog)
- Drive against massive animal sacrifice gathers momentum
Ram Bahadur Bomjan dubbed as the Buddha Boy, who stole the limelight for Buddha-like meditation in Bara forests for years allegedly without water and food... (Himalayan Times). - Journey's With George (Saunders), or Why Magazines...
My favorite piece was another GQ story, "The Incredible Buddha Boy," in which Saunders goes to investigate a claim that a boy in Nepal had been meditating... (Huffington Post). - Killing field: stop the Gadhimai sacrifices immediately
Even Ram Bahadur Bomzon, the “Buddha Boy” from Bara district, has urged to stop the Gadhimai sacrifices. Despite all these calls, sadly, the preparations to... (Republica). - Central level security sought for Gadhimai fair (Republica)
- Religious groups against violence during Gadhimai festival
Animal rights groups from in and outside the country, apart from Buddha boy Ram Bahadur Bomjan, have protested against the animal sacrifice.... (Republica).
