Cult members try to kidnap guru's son

Cult members try to kidnap guru's son
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

TOKYO, JANUARY 22: Several members of the Aleph cult, formerly Aum SupremeTruth, tried on Friday to snatch the revered eldest son of its guru ShokoAsahara from its colony in Ibaraki, North of Tokyo, police said.

The seven-year-old boy was returned to the Aleph facility and one of thewayward members was arrested on charges of trespassing and assault, aspokesman for the Ibaraki prefectural police said.

The spokesman said it was not immediately clear what the dissident memberstried to do. But the incident was seen linked to a move by the doomsday cultto dispose of any guru as part of its purported reform to head off a policecrackdown.