Sundar Gopal Das
Legal name Suraj Krishna Shrestha
Suspended — Sep 14, 2026
- Coordinator of the Bhaktivedanta Gurukul, ISKCON Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu (described variously as operator, director, principal or general coordinator)
Record summary
1 entry — 1 charge pending.
Last reviewedBio
Sundar Gopal Das (legal name Suraj Krishna Shrestha) has been a devotee with ISKCON in Nepal for more than 20 years, according to The Kathmandu Post. He has been involved in running the ISKCON-run Bhaktivedanta Gurukul at Budhanilkantha Municipality-5, Kathmandu. Nepali media have described his role variously as operator, director or former principal; ISKCON Nepal says he was “a general coordinator… not an owner or operator”. He is a parent of two children enrolled at the school.
On 14 September 2026 ISKCON’s GBC zonal secretaries suspended eight ISKCON Nepal officials, including him, pending an inquiry. ISKCON Nepal’s General Assembly called the suspension notice “illegal and invalid” and described Revati Raman Das, who signed it as GBC co-zonal secretary, as an Indian national advising its National Council. ISKCON Nepal’s president, Pradeep Bhandari, who is not among those suspended, told The Kathmandu Post: “These eight individuals were listed not because they were found guilty”, adding that “we operate under a zero-tolerance policy” on violence against children.
His birth year and other biographical details are not confirmed in the sources reviewed.
Record
1 entry · most established firstAlleged physical abuse of a young student at the Budhanilkantha gurukul
Police in Kathmandu arrested Shrestha in June 2026 on a complaint by a relative of a young student, who alleged that he physically and psychologically harmed the child at the gurukul between 2023 and 2024. Police said they had "initiated an investigation into an offence against a child" on one complaint, and that a medical examination and counselling had been arranged. In September 2026 The Kathmandu Post reported that the boy, then five, said the principal "routinely beat him and poked him with sharp pins". A separate allegation reported in the same case, the sexual abuse of the boy's sister, concerns a senior student, not Shrestha.
According to The Kathmandu Post (22 September 2026), the children’s father sent a complaint to ISKCON’s Child Protection Office Bharat on 5 August 2025. On 30 April 2026 the family filed a police complaint at the District Police Range, Kathmandu, alleging that their daughter, then 13, had been sexually abused at the gurukul between August 2021 and September 2022. The Post wrote that after Shrestha’s arrest “institutional cover-ups followed”. The senior student named in that complaint had absconded, the family said; police told them they had alerted Interpol and India’s Central Bureau of Investigation. Both cases, the physical abuse of the boy by the former principal and the sexual abuse of the girl, are before Kathmandu District Court.
On 14 September 2026 ISKCON’s GBC suspended eight officials of ISKCON Nepal, including Shrestha, pending an inquiry. On 17 September ISKCON’s Child Protection Oversight Committee said the investigation had concluded and “raised leadership and management concerns beyond child protection bodies’ mandate”, according to the Post.
ISKCON’s child-protection process. ISKCON’s Child Protection Oversight Committee said in May 2026 that, as Nepal had no child-protection team or national office, CPO Bharat (India) had handled the complaint under its oversight, with external investigators. On 10 July 2026 it said the internal investigation had concluded, that “interim restrictions have been issued against those under investigation”, and that “the residential gurukula shall remain suspended until judicial proceedings have concluded” and reforms are made. On 17 September it said the investigation had found concerns about “leadership and management” outside child-protection bodies’ mandate, which led to the 14 September suspensions, and that the case will go to a CPO review panel only after Nepal’s court process has concluded. The statements do not name anyone.
- 2026Under investigationArrested by Nepal Police under the Act Relating to Children; reported arrest dates differ (10 or 14 June 2026).
- 2026ChargedThe Kathmandu Post reported that he "was arrested on charges of physical abuse and violence against children under the Children's Act", was later released on bail, and that proceedings continue at Kathmandu District Court; Kantipur likewise reported that the case of physical and mental abuse of a boy is pending at Kathmandu District Court. No charge sheet, case number or court record has been found online (searched October 2026).
Pending. The Kathmandu Post reported in September 2026 that he had been released on bail and that proceedings continue at Kathmandu District Court, which "has scheduled October 5 to record the statements of the victims, their parents, and a key witness".
No statement from Shrestha has been found. ISKCON Nepal denied the abuse and cover-up allegations, said the case concerns alleged physical punishment rather than sexual exploitation, and called the media reporting "one-sided, fabricated and highly misleading". [4]
Sources (9)
- [1]Onlinekhabar English, ISKCON director held in child abuse investigation, June 2026 original
- [2]The Himalayan Times, ISKCON-Budhanilkantha operator in custody, June 2026 original
- [3]Kantipur, ISKCON director arrested for allegedly abusing students at Gurukul, Jun 15, 2026 original
- [4]The Himalayan Times, ISKCON Nepal denies cover-up and abuse charges at Budhanilkantha Gurukul, June 2026 original
- [5]Kantipur, इस्कोनको गुरुकुलमा बालबालिकामाथि के भएको हो ? ५ प्रश्नोत्तरमा बुझ्नुहोस् — title in English: "What happened to the children at ISKCON's gurukul? Five questions and answers", Sep 23, 2026 originalcopy on this site
- [6]ISKCON Child Protection Oversight Committee (iskconcp.org), CPOC Statement on Child Protection Proceedings in Nepal, May 5, 2026 original
- [7]ISKCON Child Protection Oversight Committee (iskconcp.org), Follow-Up Statement on Child Protection Proceedings in Nepal, Jul 10, 2026 original
- [8]ISKCON Child Protection Oversight Committee (iskconcp.org), Second Follow-Up Statement on Child Protection Proceedings in Nepal, Sep 17, 2026 original
- [9]The Kathmandu Post, Child abuse allegations shake ISKCON's Kathmandu centre, Sep 22, 2026 original
People affected
1 people affected · 0 died- A boy at the Budhanilkantha gurukul, Kathmandu, 2023–2024A relative complained to Nepal Police in 2026 that the gurukul's principal, Sundar Gopal Das, physically and psychologically harmed him; The Kathmandu Post reported that the boy, then five, said he was routinely beaten and poked with sharp pins. The case is pending before Kathmandu District Court Abused.ConnectionCharged
Timeline
Each status change in this record, on one axis, with the periods of the cases Sundar Gopal Das is involved in.
- 2026
- Under investigationJune 2026 Alleged physical abuse of a young student at the Budhanilkantha gurukul Arrested by Nepal Police under the Act Relating to Children; reported arrest dates differ (10 or 14 June 2026).
- ChargedSeptember 2026 Alleged physical abuse of a young student at the Budhanilkantha gurukul The Kathmandu Post reported that he "was arrested on charges of physical abuse and violence against children under the Children's Act", was later released on bail, and that proceedings continue at Kathmandu District Court; Kantipur likewise reported that the case of physical and mental abuse of a boy is pending at Kathmandu District Court. No charge sheet, case number or court record has been found online (searched October 2026).