‘Charles Sobhraj’ you may have heard of this name before. Many movies as well as documentaries were made on his life. Nepal’s Supreme court has recently ordered the release of Charles Sobhraj. Who was he? Why was he in jail? Why was Charles Sobhraj nicknamed ‘Bikini Killer’ or ‘The Serpent’? Why is he still known as a decorated Serial Killer? Let’s find out all the answers.

Charles Sobhraj is a French national who was in Nepal Jail since 2003. He was convicted of many murders around the globe. On the “hippie trail” through Asia in the 1970s and 1980s, investigators believe more than 20 western travelers were killed by Sobhraj.

Early Life of Charles Sobhraj

Charles Sobhraj was born on April 6, 1944, in French-administered Saigon, Vietnam. His birth name was Hotchand Bhawnani Gurmukh Sobhraj. His father was an Indian Businessman. His mother was Vietnamese. Later he was abandoned by his father and his mother got remarried to a Frenchman. After her Mother’s remarriage, Sobhraj moved to France. Charles never accepted his new family and was very resentful of his father’s abandonment.

At an early age, Charles took to petty crimes like stealing and impersonation. He was moving in and out of police custody frequently since his teenage.

In 1963, Sobhraj was first jailed in Paris. He was accused of burglary. in the same year, he went on to be accused of committing various crimes in several countries like Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

‘Bikini Killer’ of Thailand

In the year 1975, Charles Sobhraj arrived in Bangkok, Thailand with his Canadian wife and an Indian associate. Sobhraj started acting as a trader of precious stones in Thailand. He started spending time with the tourists. He used to charm people with his good looks and French suaveness. He was very famous among the tourists.

Terror strikes Thailand when one day the body of a woman was found on a beach in Pattaya. The woman’s dead body was in a bad state wearing just a bikini.

Soon many bodies of women started flowing across the city, all of them were either beaten, strangled, or burned to death. Every dead body was of a woman wearing just a bikini.

Charles Sobhraj came under the radar of Thailand Police behind all these killings. Sobhraj used the passports and identities of his victims. ‘Bikini Killer’ was becoming very famous at that time in Thailand. Charles Sobhraj fled to India using fake passports under heavy suspicion by the authorities.

Charles Sobhraj in India | ‘The Serpent’ in India

After fleeing France, Charles Sobhraj came to India and started recruiting many peoples in his group to commit various crimes. Sobhraj who has previously been implicated in more than 20 murders got arrested in India.

Sobhraj had been made accused of many dangerous crimes which include poisoning a whole bus of people which includes a total of 20 French tourists. Many students filed a report to the police about Sobhraj’s shams and how he drugged them with poison pills.

Charles Sobhraj was accused of murdering a French tourist, Jean-Luc Solomon. In 1982, an Indian court ordered Life Sentence for Charles Sobhraj for the 1976 murder of an Israeli tourist, Alan Jacob.

Charles Sobhraj was later found not guilty of murder due to a lack of evidence, although he was remained imprisoned for other offences..

In 1980, the Thailand government demanded Charles Sobhraj’s extradition. It was the case of a murder of an American Woman and French tourist Teresa Knowlton. Indian government accepted their demand.

Charles Sobhraj knew that there was a huge risk of facing the death penalty in Thailand. So he prepared a plan to escape jail in India. Sobhraj spiked sweets and distributed them to the prison guards. but his plan failed because he was caught again soon.

Sobhraj’s Prison break case did not come to trial in court for many years because of the slow Indian legal system. As a result, the Thailand government lost interest in the extradition of Sobhraj. Due to his ability in escaping jail, Charles Sobhraj got the nickname ‘The Serpent’.

By the time he left Indian jail in the year 1997, Charles Sobhraj ‘The Serpent’ was accused of more than 15 murders across 10 countries.

Before coming back to Nepal in 2003, Charles Sobhraj left for France and resided there quietly.

Charles Sobhraj in Nepal

Charles Sobhraj returned to Nepal in the year 2004. He set up a shawl export and trading company under a fake identity.

Nepal government quickly recognized and arrested Sobhraj in a Kathmandu casino. He was accused of the murder of two tourists in the year 1975. Due to his history as ‘The Serpent’, Sobhraj was kept in a high-security prison in Nepal.

Nepal’s court-ordered life sentence to Sobhraj in August 2004 and if given a 20-year sentence, would serve 19 years.

Read More : What is Pegasus Spyware? Is it Harmful ?

Charles Sobhraj Wife

In the year 2008, Charles Sobhraj got married while in jail. Charles Sobhraj’s wife, Nihita Biswas a Nepali nationalist is 44 years younger than him

‘Bikini Killer’ is now free

Charles Sobhraj who is now 78 years old have been released from prison on 23rd December 2022. Nepal Supreme court had ordered the release of ‘The Serpent’ on 21st December on various grounds. Charles Sobhraj was released on the ground of old age, good behavior in prison, and also of the fact that he had served most of his prison sentence.

Bollywood movies like ‘Mai aur Charles and web series like ‘The Serpent’ were based on the life of Charles Sobhraj. Charles Sobhraj went back to France just after his release. He was released on a condition that he will not visit Nepal again .

“I feel great… I have a lot to do. I have to sue a lot of people. Including the state of Nepal,” Sobhraj told reporters on board a plane for his deportation to France.