Nepal Boy Called Reincarnated Buddha Missing

Binaj Gurubacharya
The Associated Press
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Katmandu (Nepal):
A 15-year-old boy whose followers believe he is the reincarnation of Buddha has disappeared after 10 months of meditation in the Nepalese jungle, officials said Saturday.
Followers of Ram Bahadur Banjan reported his disappearance and search parties on Sunday split up in the jungles of Bara, about 100 miles south of the capital, Katmandu, to investigate, said Santaraj Subedi, the chief government official in the district.
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See Also:
Nepal hunt for Little Buddha
'Buddha boy' disappears
'Little Buddha' disappears from meditation site
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Gautam Raj Kattel, a police official, said eyewitnesses reported seeing the teen heading south before dawn on Saturday.
His clothes were found near the spot where he had been meditating.Kattel said officials did not believe Banjan had been abducted by communist rebels or robbers.Banjan has been sitting cross-legged and motionless with eyes closed in a niche among the roots of a tree in the jungle since May 17, 2005, according to his associates, who claim he has had no food or water during that period.