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Cult Leader (Maybe) Affiliated With Yeshiva

Baltimore is a strange, strange place

by
Marc Tracy
June 10, 2010

Recently, there was a 911 call for a domestic assault in a bizarre house in Pikesville, Maryland, a town right outside Baltimore with a significant Orthodox Jewih popluation. Then, there was an explosion, and police, who had surrounded the house, began to fear for their safety when it seemed as though there were snipers inside and that the house itself was associated with a cult called Sist (or maybe SIST).

This cult’s leader, and the house’s owner, is apparently one Dr. Avraham Cohen, a.k.a. R.C. Samanta Roy, a.k.a. “Rama Behera,” who a few years ago was said to have pledged half a million dollars to Baltimore’s Yeshivat Rambam. Dr. Cohen—who may or may not be a doctor (“neurosurgeon,” in fact), and may or may not be a Cohen—allegedly grew up in a Jewish community in India.

Oh, right, and there is video of much of the incident courtesy of Cantor Manny Perlman, who lives across the street.

Was there anything else? Ah, yes: Apparently the Sist/SIST cult tried to pay someone to kill all 60 residents of the town of Shawano, Wisconsin.

Perlman, his wife, and the rest of the neighbors had suspected weird goings-on at the house ever since “Dr. Cohen” moved in ten years ago. “Once the house was turned over to the gentleman who purchased it for his organization, the behavior has always been very unusual,” says nearby resident Patti Friedman.

Assault & Search May Have Link to Cult [WJZ 13]

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.