KATHMANDU: In the remote jungle of southern Nepal Buddhist monks in burgundy-coloured robes and Hindu priests pray together for the safe return of Nepal’s missing “Buddha Boy”.

Thought to be the birth place of Buddha, the source of Hinduism’s holiest river, and ruled by a king who is believed by many to be a descendant of the Hindu god Vishnu, Nepal is a country that takes religion seriously.

So it was not surprising that people began flocking to Bara, 150 kilometres southeast of Kathmandu, to pay homage to a 16-year-old sage, when it was heard he had been meditating non-stop for months, without food and water.

But Ram Bahadur Bomjan, dubbed “Buddha Boy” by the media, vanished from his meditation site, nestled in the roots of a pipal tree, in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Media reported that he had been glimpsed in the surrounding jungle on Saturday, but since then there was no clue to his whereabouts more than 48 hours later.—AFP