The life and crimes of Bikini Killer Charles Sobhraj

Charles Gurmukh Sobhraj, the French-Indian criminal also known as The Serpent and the Bikini Killer, will be released from jail where he was serving life sentence, after the Supreme Court of Nepal ordered his release on health grounds.

Sobhraj was arrested by the Nepal Police in Kathmandu in 2003 for murdering two American tourists. The apex court of Nepal on Wednesday (December 21) ordered his release from the jail within 15 days and his immediate deportation to his native country France. 

The 78-year-old conman had applied for release from jail on account of his frailing health. The French government had also approached Nepal government for this. 

Known for escaping the premises of Tihar Jail in 1986, Sobhraj was wanted in at least 20 murders committed by him in 1970s. He had spent nearly 20 years in jails in India and then was caught again in Nepal in 2003, where he was again sentenced for 20 years for his crimes. 

Who was Charles Sobhraj? He was a French citizen with Vietnamese and Indian parentage and he committed multiple murders in 1970s.

• Sobhraj was born to an Indian father and Vietnamese mother. His parents were never married. In fact, his father never accepted his parentage. 
• He lived with his mother who later married a French soldier. It is said that Sobhraj never could fit in the new family and from his early age got into the world of crime. 

The criminal world of Charles Sohbhraj: A troubled childhood and several prison terms in France for petty crimes gave birth to a notorious criminal who would go on to committ several murders and still play with law.

• Sobhraj masqueraded as a decent man but from inside he was a hardened criminal who would lure cash strapped travellers before allegedly drugging, robbing and killing them.
• Thailand had issued a warrant against Sobhraj in mid-1970s for the charges of drugging and killing six women, all wearing bikini in Pattaya. However, he was caught and jailed in India before he could be tried for those charges. 

The arrest in India: In July 1976, Sobhraj and three women accomplices convinced some French students to hire them as tourist guides. They then gave these tourists some poison pills. However, some of the students managed to escape and informed the police. 

• Sobhraj and his group members were arrested, tried and and sentenced to 10 years in prison. 
• In 1987, he had organized a party in Tihar Jail where he spiked the sweets of the jail officials and escaped from the prison. He was caught at a restaurant in Goa by the Mumbai Police and his sentence was extended by another 10 years. 
• However, there was a catch here. Since Sobhraj was wanted for the 5 murders in Thailand and it was certain that he would be extradited to Thailand and his execution was on the cards in Thailand, he carefully staged his escape in the tenth year of his imprisonment so that he isn't sent back to Thailand.
• By the end of his 20-year jail term in India, time-frame to charge him for the crimes in Thailand had lapsed and in 1997 he was allowed to return to France.

The Nepal connection: In 2003, he somehow appeared in Nepal where he was again arrested by Nepal Police for the murder of an American woman, Connie Jo Bronzich. 

• Later, he was also convicted for killing Bronzich's friend Laurent Carriere. 
• In Nepal he also married a local woman, Nihita Biswas, who participated in Indian TV show Big Boss Season 5. 

The criminal who ran Tihar: Sobhraj, who has even penned books on his life, was known for spending lavish life inside the Tihar prison from 1977-1997. He roamed like an influential person inside the jail premises and had access to all the perks and facilities.

• Sunil Gupta, Tihar Jail's former jailer, in his book 'Black Warrant' revealed how influential the serial killer was inside the jail. In the book, Gupta writes how Sobhraj had also secured his job at Tihar Jail in 1981. 
• "To say that Sobhraj was enjoying his life in Tihar was an understatemnt. Unlike other inmates, there was no lock-in or lock-out for him. He could go wherever he wanted and he interacted and treated the superintendent and his deputy as his peer. No one stopped him for doing anything," Gupta wrote in his book.
• His influence in Tihar was to the extent that he even considered the Superintendend and Deputy Superintendent of Tihar jail as his peers. 

A movie on the life of Charles Sobhraj Main aur Charles starring Randeep Hooda was also released in 2015. Plus, there is hit web series "The Serpent" jointly made by BBC and Netflix on the life of Charles Sobhraj.