When Samrat joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness Gurukul in Kathmandu as a school bus driver, he believed he was serving a higher divine purpose. His wife joined him, serving at the institution’s restaurant as a cook, while both of their children were enrolled as students in the residential Gurukul—the Bhaktivedanta Gurukul Institute in Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu.

“I was completely dedicated, believing that bhakti—devotion—is everything,” said Samrat. At the family’s request, the Post is using pseudonyms to identify the father and the children to protect their privacy. “I didn’t have the slightest doubt that any harm or wrongdoing would come to my child at the institute,” Samrat added.

The school’s principal then, Suraj Krishna Shrestha, a devotee for more than 20 years, had two children of his own enrolled, Samrat said. “I thought, if they keep their own children here, how could anything bad happen to mine?” To Samrat, the man was a senior figure, a role model.

Samrat was in for a rude awakening when his young children reported they had endured physical violence, sexual abuse, and institutional neglect inside the religious boarding facility for years. His 13-year-old daughter said that she was subjected to sexual abuse by a staff member at the school for years. His five-year-old son reported that the principal himself routinely beat him and poked him with sharp pins.

The family filed an internal complaint with ISKCON’s global child protection office before approaching the police on April 30. Shrestha was arrested on charges of physical abuse and violence against children under the Children’s Act. Institutional cover-ups followed. Shrestha was later released on bail.

Founded in 1966, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, famously known as the Hare Krishna movement, is a global religious organisation operating hundreds of temples and Gurukuls—traditional residential religious schools. In Nepal, its centre in Budhanilkantha oversees both temple activities and boarding schools, where families entrust their children to live and study under the care of religious devotees and leaders.

What appeared to be an institutional willingness to probe the case came on September 14, when ISKCON’s global governing body commission suspended eight officials of its Nepal branch, including Shrestha, the former principal, nearly five months after the family went to the police.

The suspensions were announced in a letter posted on the website of ISKCON’s Child Protection Office Bharat and signed by two of the governing body’s zonal secretaries. It follows an internal fact-finding investigation into a whistle-blower complaint about the school. The eight are suspended from managerial, administrative and leadership duties pending an inquiry and disciplinary process, the letter states. It calls the measures precautionary and says no final determination of individual responsibility should be inferred. ISKCON Nepal’s President Pradeep Bhandari also says as much.

The family filed a complaint on April 30 at the District Police Range, Kathmandu, in Bhadrakali, alleging that their daughter, Shikha, now 13, was sexually abused at the Gurukul in Budhanilkantha between August 2021 and September 2022. She was able to speak about it only in mid-2025, when she told a female teacher at another school. Shikha’s father said she would sit staring blankly, unable to sleep, and cry or scream two or three times a day.

“I was very innocent back then,” Shikha told the Post. “I was completely unable to understand what was happening.”

Ishwor Shrestha, a senior student who is named in the complaint as the alleged perpetrator, is absconding, the family says. Police have told them they have alerted Interpol and India’s Central Bureau of Investigation. But the fact that Ishwor has yet to prepare his citizenship document has hampered the search, Samrat said.

A police official at the District Police Range, Bhadrakali, confirmed to the Post that Ishwor’s citizenship document has not been made. Citing the ongoing case, the official declined to comment further.

Samrat’s son, Hitesh, was 5 when he was punished in the school, the family says. “The principal beat me, poked me with pins and threatened me with punishment if I told my parents,” Hitesh told the Post.

On August 5, 2025, Samrat sent a complaint to ISKCON’s Child Protection Office Bharat. When that produced no result, he said, they went to the police about nine months later.

The letter, signed by Governing Body Commission (GBC) Zonal Secretary Jayapataka Swami and Co-Zonal Secretary Revati Raman Das, said ISKCON’s Child Protection Oversight Committee received a whistle-blower complaint alleging serious child abuse, safeguarding failures, institutional misconduct and governance deficiencies at the Kathmandu school. The committee authorised the Child Protection Office Bharat to carry out an independent internal fact-finding review through external professionals.

A follow-up statement on September 17 from ISKCON’s Child Protection Oversight Committee said the investigation had concluded and raised leadership and management concerns beyond child protection bodies’ mandate. The complainants have also approached Nepal’s authorities and the legal process is ongoing. Internal adjudication by a review panel would follow only after that, and a local Child Protection Team for Nepal has been approved.

Bhandari, the ISKCON Nepal president, who is not among those suspended, insisted to the Post that the suspension should not be read as a finding after their investigation. “These eight individuals were listed not because they were found guilty,” he said.

Bhandari said the Child Protection Office has not shared its report or a summary with ISKCON Nepal. He also said there is discussion ongoing about how the letter came to carry Jayapataka Swami’s name, saying the Swami has been seriously ill for about three months and unable to speak, and that ISKCON Nepal has been unable to reach him.

“Regarding all these allegations of violence against children, we operate under a zero-tolerance policy,” Bhandari added. “We are always ready to support and stand in solidarity with legal procedures.”

Meanwhile, on Sunday, ISKCON Nepal’s General Assembly issued a press release calling the suspension notice “illegal and invalid.” It described Revati Raman Das, who signed the letter as GBC co-zonal secretary, as an Indian national serving as an advisor to its National Council. The statement demanded a written apology and clarification from Das within 24 hours. If he fails, it would ask him to resign as advisor and take the matter to the GBC. That deadline has now passed.

The General Assembly, however, has courted controversy. Acharya Ratna Das, a practicing devotee, told the Post he was not allowed inside the General Assembly hall on Sunday. He said an annual general meeting should be open even to non-devotees and the public. According to him, ISKCON’s constitution requires the meeting to be held about three months before the fiscal year ends but it was only recently organised, hence its legal validity is questionable. He also said the notice went out only about two weeks prior to the meeting, though 21 days are required, and the meeting was first set for Monday, then shifted to Sunday, a holiday. Das claimed this was done so resolutions could be passed without dissent.

Meanwhile, legal proceedings continue at the Kathmandu District Court in both cases: the child violence case against the former principal regarding the young boy, as well as the multi-year sexual abuse case involving the girl.

The court has scheduled October 5 to record the statements of the victims, their parents, and a key witness.

Amid this, Samrat said that what the family wants is simple: for the GBC’s order to be followed. “I want this decision to be strictly enforced permanently,” he said. He said ISKCON Nepal’s leadership is resisting it and trying to “suppress us by any means.”

No one from ISKCON Nepal has contacted him directly since the notice, Samrat said. Earlier, third parties urged the family to reconcile, and colleagues accused him of acting for money or at others’ urging. “I don’t even have the financial capacity or money to hire a lawyer,” he said. “But remaining silent is not an option for us.”

Samrat said he still counts himself part of ISKCON. “I don’t say that ISKCON as a whole is damaged,” he said. “But my faith is already broken.”