Musing over a murderer
Recently, I’ve been spooked. And that’s because I’ve been thinking about the notorious serial killer Charles Sobhraj who was recently released from Nepal jail. It’s probably because I watched the British crime drama ‘The Serpent’, an eight-part limited series produced by BBC One and Netflix. I find watching something makes it stick in my head, rather than reading about it, which is why Sobhraj dominates my thoughts. I’m intrigued and appalled by this man who was, no doubt, a genius but used his brilliance in such a horrifying way. Apparently, Sobhraj was good at manipulating people and circumstances from a very young age. Born to an Indian father and Vietnamese mother who were never married, he created multiple identities for himself and used his romantic partners in his criminal acts. His first wife, Chantal Compagnon, traveled to Asia and together the couple conned many people. After a while, they decided to give up crime altogether but Sobhraj quickly went back to his ways. In 1973, he was arrested after an unsuccessful armed robbery and kept in Tihar jail. He faked being ill and reached the hospital from where Chantal helped him escape. Sobhraj, by his own admittance, was a charming man. He is believed to have said, “As long as I can talk to people, I can manipulate them.” A person, who celebrated a life of criminal adventure, was also known as a man with great self-control among his friends. One of his many partners became so intoxicated in love that all she wanted was to live and die with him. She says, “I tried to make him love me but little by little I became his slave.” According to the series, Sobhraj was quick on his feet and could navigate himself out of tight situations with ease. He also had a knack for making friends and gaining loyal followers in no time. Also known as ‘The Bikini Killer’, Sobhraj is believed to have murdered at least 20 tourists in South and Southeast Asia, including 14 in Thailand. While evading the police, Sobhraj financed his lifestyle by posing as a gem salesman or drug dealer to impress and befriend unsuspecting tourists, whom he then defrauded. He was eventually caught and jailed in India. After 10 years in prison, he threw a big party for the inmates and guards where he drugged them with sleeping pills and walked out. He was captured again but he had to be freed because by then most evidence and witnesses had disappeared. The Indian authorities let him return to France. Sobhraj came to Nepal in 2003. Here, he was arrested by a team of Nepal Police-led by DSP Ganesh KC, from a casino in Kathmandu and slapped with a life sentence for the murder. KC has now retired after being promoted to the rank of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Nepal Police. In Nepal too, Sobhraj pulled all the tricks he could. He got ‘married’ to Nihita Biswas, who was four decades younger than him, in a bid to get out of jail quickly. She was his translator, besides being the daughter of his lawyer. Sobhraj was released from prison and deported to France in Dec 2022. The Supreme Court of Nepal ordered his release from prison on the basis of his age, health, and good behavior. I can’t help but wonder what his next move will be now that he is out. Is he filled with regret or has he been able to justify it all in his head? If sources are to be believed, he claims he was destined to do whatever he has done. So maybe he is just plotting his next move. The thought of it makes a chill run down my spine.
