Kathmandu, June 22:

People’s wrath descended upon Bisheshwor Chaudhary, alias the Trishul Baba, after his predicted Doomsday spared the country today.

People were panic-stricken after Chaudhary predicted a month ago that Nepal and its adjoining countries would be struck by natural disasters like earthquakes and floods today, killing scores.

Nervous people waited with bated breath for the self-styled godman’s predictions to come true in the morning, but as the morning passed without the slightest of the signs of the catastrophe, they flocked to the residence of Chaudhary at Milantole, Gongabu-3, and thrashed him and his followers.

The police had to intervene and rescue Chaudhary and his followers afer the situation started getting out of hand.

A few followers of Chaudhary were injured in the incident, the police said, adding that a policeman was also injured when he tried to rescue Chaudhary. The baba was, however, not hurt.

Police arrested Chaudhary and his 17 followers. While the followers have been freed, Chaudhary is cooling his heels behind the bars at a police station. “We arrested him on the charge of spreading terror in society through a misleading prediction,” DSP Shushil Bhandari at the police station said.

The police produced him in the Kathmandu District Court and got its permission to keep him in custody for 15 days under a public offence charge, Bhandari told this daily.

“I got the message from God and my job was to convey His message to the people,” Chaudhary told this daily.

The baba was defiant. He still insisted that what he said was that the disasters would struck anytime within July 10.

Thirty-six-year-old Chaudhary, who hails from Sindhuli district, said he grew long

hair, donned the saffron robes and held a trident after divine power descended upon him four years ago.

He claims to cure people of their illnesses by touching them with the trident he holds.

Following the prediction, the home ministry had, in a press release, asked people not to be misled by the prediction as according to it, science has not developed so much so as to forecast a natural calamity.