Thousands of pilgrims are pouring into the dense jungle of southern Nepal to worship a 15-year-old boy hailed as the new Buddha.
Devotees claim Ram Bomjon has not eaten or drunk anything since he began silently meditating beneath a tree six months ago. Witnesses say they have seen light emanating from the boy's forehead.
'It looks a bit like when you shine a torch through your hand,' said Tek Bahadur Lama, a member of a panel responsible for dealing with an ever-growing number of visitors from India and Nepal.
Local journalist Upendra Lamichami said no claim has yet emerged of Ram breaking his fast or moving, even to relieve himself.
Santa Raj Subedi, chief official in Bara district, this week appealed to Kathmandu for assistance in dealing with the influx of visitors, and for a team of scientific experts to examine the case. A locally appointed team of doctors had earlier failed to reach a conclusion.
The phenomenon resembles an episode in the life of the Buddha born 220km away in 543BC, who achieved enlightenment when he meditated beneath a sacred pipal tree for 49 days.
Ram also sits beneath a pipal tree, in the same posture as the Buddha is depicted, but last week announced that enlightenment will take six more years to achieve.
