In Kabul, he was arrested and kept at a prison, where he faked illness again and escaped the prison. Charles was born in Saigon to an Indian father and a Vietnamese mother. [27], Back in Asia, Sobhraj started forming a new criminal group, starting with two Western women, Barbara Smith and Mary Ellen Eather, in Bombay. Just up to Charles expectation, his prison sentence was extended to ten years. It was quiet as a grave. She came to Thailand to be with him three. After getting paroled, Charles accompanied Felix to high society life while involving himself with the Parisian underworld (committing a series of burglaries and scams). He wanted to get to his birth father, so he traveled in them. Back in Bombay, Sobhraj wanted to build a new criminal group; he started by employing Barbara Smith and Mary Ellen Eather in his gang. In January 2021, BBC One and Netflix co-produced The Serpent, a miniseries based on the crimes of Charles Sobhraj. He grew up being neglected by his parents in favour of his half-siblings. At the same time, he was joined by a young Indian man named Ajay Chowdhury, who was a fellow criminal and became his right-hand man. Fearing exposure, Sobhraj and Chowdhury quickly hustled Bintanja and Hemker out. Some other victims of Charles Sobhraj were: At that time, the investigators found no connection in the murders of Charmayne Carrou and Teresa Knowlton. Charles Sobhrajs trial was quite a show. The police have no evidence. who was sent back to live with Compagnon's parents in France. [44], The 2015 Hindi film Main Aur Charles, directed by Prawaal Raman and Cyznoure Network, is reportedly based on Charles Sobhraj's escape from Tihar Jail in New Delhi. Kippenberg built a case against Charles and after a month-long investigation, full evidence of murder and drugging was found against Charles. Sobhraj and Andr became partners in crime, participating in various criminal activities in both Turkey and Greece. Andr Darreau is his brother's name. Sobhraj was well-aware of the 20-year-old, still valid Thai arrest warrant against him. [34] The following day, Nepalese authorities dismissed the claim of his marriage. His first addition was Marie-Andre Leclerc, who was spellbound by Charles and became his biggest accomplice in crimes. A Bollywood crime film titled Main Aur Charles starring Randeep Hooda (as Charles), Richa Chadda, Adil Hussain, Tisca Chopra, and Alexx ONell in lead roles was released in 2015. During the same time, he met Chantel Compagnon. He gave several interviews where the murders came up in conversations, but he never admitted to them. On October 9, 2008, news outlets claimed that Nihita and Charles had married during the Bada Dashami. In 1973, he returned with his family to India and was arrested and imprisoned at Tihar Jail, Delhi, for carrying out an unsuccessful armed robbery at a jewelry store at Hotel Ashoka, Delhi. He was once advocated by Jacques Vergs, a Siamese-born French lawyer known for defending war criminals like Nazi Klaus Barbie, terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy. Sobhraj's supposed wife Biswas and mother-in-law Shakuntala Thapa, a lawyer, expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict, with Thapa claiming that Sobhraj had been denied justice and that the "judiciary is corrupt". To gather more followers, he invented a new con in which he selected his victims, created problems for them, and become their problem solver. Ajay was last seen delivering gems to Charles and none of his remains were found; a source later claimed to have seen Ajay in West Germany. While in Poissy prison, he met a prison volunteer named Felix dEscogne, a young man with connections to high society personnel in Paris. Charles Sobhraj, the infamous 'Bikini Killer' has made headlines after the Nepal Supreme Court ordered his release and immediate deportation to his home country, France. Charles Sobhraj. They were out of their depth, having to deal with Sobhraj's 'creepy emissaries,' who kept them under surveillance and arranged for them to visit him in prison, where he described the murders in detail. On August 20, 2004, the Kathmandu District Court convicted Charles for the murders of Bronzich and Carrire and gave him a life imprisonment sentence. His return is thought to have been the result of his yearning for attention and overconfidence in his own intellect. The daughter of his lawyer, she was 20 years old and 44 years his junior. 2000 for illegally entering Nepal, and seizure of all his property. She was still claiming her innocence and was reportedly still loyal to Sobhraj when she died at her home in April 1984. Later, his lawyers announced that Chantal Compagnon was filing a case against the French government for not aiding her husband before the European Court of Human Rights. Sobhraj appealed against the conviction, claiming he had been sentenced without trial. During interrogation, Smith and Eather confessed everything, and the four criminals were sent to Tihar Jail in Delhi. [45][46] The film was initially produced by Pooja Bhatt, but due to disagreements during the shoot, Bhatt left the film. After his release he returned to France. In Tihar Jail, Delhi, he had a library opened for himself. When the drugs took effect more quickly than Sobhraj had anticipated, the students began to fall unconscious. By the time, his sentence was about to end in India, the Thai arrest warrant was still valid. Charles Sobhraj was born in Saigon to a Vietnamese mother and an Indian father. He has been ordered to leave the country within 15 days. However, when Charles was four years old, his father abandoned the family and married an Indian woman. In 1970, Charles and Chantal arrived in Mumbai, where Charles decided to quit crime for his wife and children. In 1973, he was arrested and imprisoned after an unsuccessful armed robbery at a jewelry store at Hotel Ashoka, Delhi. Growing up, he read the book The Will to Power by Friedrich Nietzsche, which helped him get into the mind of his victims and people in general. In France, he lived in Marseilles. Chantal gave birth to a baby girl, Usha, in the city. "The puppet master would manipulate somebody to get at someone else. That proves I have nothing to hide. He charged large sums of money for interviews and photographs. Two of the most common names he used were Alain Gauthier and Robert Grainer. He was always absent from his school due to which his grades suffered. At the same time, he was flirting with dozens of women, including a Madrasi woman whom Sobhraj had sent a marriage proposal. Both his parents were unmarried, and after the birth of Charles, his father abandoned Charles and his mother, and his mother blamed Charles for her separation from her lover. When I joined the force, I told my wife and children that one day I would arrest Charles Sobhraj.. In 2008, Farrukh Dhondy released his book The Bikini Murders in which the lead character was based on Charles Sobhraj. Dominique Renelleau, another victim whose apparent dysentery was cured by Charles; according to Dominique, he fell sick after drinking a potion given by Marie-Andre. The judicial system is archaic and unjust. After all these years, what I can say is that this girl had a very very sad, abominable destiny., Sobhraj apparently rescued Masood from goons in jail, who had beaten him to a pulp, during their stint in Tihar jail. In the meantime, Sobhraj resumed his criminal life, running a car theft and smuggling operation. In July 1976, Sobhraj and his three-women gang drugged a group of French postgraduate students. He is also referred to as The Bikini Killer, The Splitting Killer, and The Serpent. [1]The Telegraph. After a fortnight, Charles faked appendicitis and managed to escape with the help of his wife. . In one such case, he helped recover the passports of the French policemen Yannick and Jacques, which Charles had stolen earlier. Her mother soon found a lover in Lieutenant Alphonse Darreau, an officer in the French army in French Indochina, and they both got married. In one case, he helped the French policemen Yannick and Jacques recover their passports, which he had stolen earlier. He was still a teenager when he started committing petty crimes and in 1963, he served his first jail sentence for burglary at the Poissy prison near Paris. On 20 August 2004, Sobhraj was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Kathmandu district court for the 1975 murder of Connie Jo Bronzich.[6][31]. In 2005, the Patan Court of Appeals confirmed Sobhrajs conviction. According to The Himalayan Times, Sobhraj had returned to Kathmandu to set up a mineral water business. However, Charles couldnt leave the path of crime and involved himself a car theft and smuggling enterprises. In 1973, he got caught for a failed bank robbery but managed to escape with the help of Compagnon. He was also engaged to two women at the same time, Jacqueline Kuster (German imprisoned on drug charges) and a Punjabi woman (who fell in love with Charles after reading a book on him). He was an Israeli scholar and was killed by Charles in Calcutta, India. The series stars Tahar Rahim (as Charles) and Jenna Coleman (as Marie-Andre Leclerc) in the lead roles. Charles is known for his provocative selection of lawyers. This was the period when he became acquainted with Felix d'Escogne, a wealthy and impressionable young man who volunteered in the prison. In Nepal, between December 21 and 22, 1975, they murdered. Sobhraj fled to Iran, leaving his family behind. His parents separated when he was three. According to some reports, he had gems concealed in his body when he entered the prison, which he used to bribe the prison guards. Since no country wanted to take him in, Indian authorities decided to return Charles to France. You can not be in an apartment and there are people who are chained in your apartment without seeing them. Thats how police identified the victim as Connie Bronzich. Sobhraj was born in Saigon to an Indian father and Vietnamese mother. The film was based on Charles escape from Tihar jail and starred Randeep Hooda (as Charles). The series is based on the crimes of Charles Sobhraj and stars Tahar Rahim (as Charles) and Jenna Coleman (as Marie-Andre Leclerc) in the lead roles. Knippenberg found evidence, including victims' documents and passports, as well as poisons and syringes. Sobhraj is famous for his provocative choice of lawyers. [17], In 1973, Sobhraj was arrested and imprisoned after an unsuccessful armed robbery attempt on a jewellers at The Ashok, in New Delhi. He was eventually given police permission to search Sobhraj's apartment a full month after the suspect had left the country. He continued to move back and forth in Indochina and France. He drugged and robbed tourists for money. He, too, grew up with his brother. This was the last time he was seen; neither Chowdhury nor his remains have been found. Sobhraj told the French news agency Agence-France Presse on the flight out of Nepal that he was not guilty of murdering Bronzich and Carriere and that the case against him was built on fake documents. [8][9] On 23 December, he was released and deported to France.[10]. Their similar murdering style earned Charles the moniker The Bikini Killer.. Charles Sobhraj (Getty Images) Usha was born to Sobhraj and Chantal in Mumbai, India, in 1970 when her parents were a wanted couple on the run. In Bangkok, Sobhaj was interrogated for the Pattaya murders but not charged; reportedly, Charles was not charged because authorities feared that it would affect the tourism of Thailand. It has also been reported that the criminal got his charismatic nature and ability to be persuasive from his father. Indian authorities decided to return Charles to France because they were no countries that wanted to accept Charles. In Tihar Jail in Delhi, he had a library for himself. He was a con artist. The couple went to Bombay, where Compagnon gave birth to their daughter, Usha Sobhraj. He was deported to France and will not be able to return to Nepal for at least 10 years. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/charles-sobhraj-11624.php. Sobhraj met a young French woman named Chantal Compagnon and began a passionate relationship with her. On July 10, 2010, the Supreme Court upholding the verdict against Charles confirmed Charles life imprisonment sentence with an additional one year, a fine of Rs. While Sobhraj fled Athens, his brother was handed over to Afgan authorities and he (Andre) served his 18-year prison sentence. After reading the reports in The Himalayan Times, the Nepal police raided the casino, arresting Sobhraj (who was gambling there) and reopening the double murder case from 1975 against him. I came to Nepal to make a documentary. I was playing near Kathmandu airport. 8:14. Ajays remains were never found but it is claimed that Charles murdered Ajay to continue his journey to Geneva. In India, Sobhraj met Marie-Andre Leclerc from Lvis, Quebec, a tourist looking for adventure. Darreau adopted Charles and was a good father to him; Darreau did not give Charles his name. [16], After being paroled, Sobhraj moved in with d'Escogne and spent his time moving between the high society of Paris and the criminal underworld. After that, the Thai authorities took notice. Charles Sobhraj is a French serial killer, swindler, and thief who is famous for executing his crimes on the hippie trail of South Asia during the 1970s. Most of Charles Sobhraj's victims were discovered along Southeast Asia's Hippie Trail. Upon his release from prison after eight months, he got married to Compagnon. The police reopened the double murder case from 1975. After his return from prison, Charles married Chantal, and they decided to leave France for Asia, fearing French authorities. [30], On 1 September 2003, Sobhraj was spotted by a journalist for The Himalayan Times in a casino in Kathmandu. Charles Sobhraj was born on 6 April 1944, his birthplace is Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Reportedly, he entered the prison with gems concealed in his body. They said that Biswas and her family had been allowed to conduct a tika ceremony, along with the relatives of hundreds of other prisoners. He became a French citizen after his . Within days, the Bangkok Post printed an explosive front-page story headlined: "Web of Death.". [17][13], Sobhraj's prison sentence in India was due to end before the 20-year Thai statute of limitations expired, ensuring his extradition and almost certain execution for murder in Thailand. Charles Sobhraj Family. [14] They soon gained notoriety in Turkey and Greece. Clarke was very relieved when they left Delhi. He even involved his family in gambling. Soon, her mother married her French boyfriend, Lieutenant Alphonse Darreau, who adopted Charles but refused to give him his name. Two of his most popular names were Alain Gauthier and Robert Grainer. An old picture of Richard Neville and Julie Clarke, If I have ever killed, or have ordered killings, then it was purely for reasons of business, just a job, like a general in the army. He was engaged to two women; Jacqueline Kuster, a German imprisoned on drug charges; a Punjabi woman who fell in love with him after reading the book by Neville and Clarke. Read More: Where is Charles Sobhrajs First Wife Now? In July 2010, the Supreme Court of Nepal postponed the verdict of appeal filed by Charles on the judgment of the district court against him. His next victim was a Frenchman named Jean-Luc Solomon, whom Charles intended to rob in a South Delhi hotel but died due to poisoning. Although the murders of the two women were not connected by investigators at the time, they would later earn Sobhraj the nickname "The Bikini Killer". Marie-Andree also received a twelve-year prison sentence after she was found guilty of drugging French students and murdering Jacob. Herman Knippenberg and Angela Kane in 1975. [6] Sobhraj went to Nepal in 2003, where he was arrested, tried, and given a life sentence. In 1963, Sobhraj went to jail for the first time, charged with burglary at Poissy prison near Paris. He managed to get out of Marseilles two times, only to be found and returned to the port. He went through a series of defence lawyers, started a hunger strike, and even brought in his recently-paroled brother Andr to help. He was arrested on 19 September in the Yak and Yeti hotels casino. Their second victim Vitali Hakims burnt body was discovered on the road near Pattaya resort, where Sobhraj and his group was staying at the time. In Malaysia, during a gem-heist operation, Sobhraj and Chowdhury seemed to have parted ways. Upon his return to Thailand, Sobhraj discovered that his three French companions had started to suspect him of serial murder, having found documents belonging to the murder victims. The films story follows the escape of Charles from Tihar jail. There are many books written on the life of Charles; Serpentine (1979) by Thomas Thompson; The Life and Crimes of Charles Sobhraj (1980) by Richard Neville and Julie Clarke, reissued as On the Trail of the Serpent; The Bikini Murders by Noel Barber in the Readers Digest collection Great Cases of Interpol (1982). Soon after his marriage with Chantel, the couple worried about their future, and Charles decided to leave France for Asia; they used fake documents and began robbing the travelers while traveling in Eastern Europe. Charles Sobhraj (born Hotchand Bhawnani Gurmukh Sobhraj, 6 April 1944) is a serial killer, fraudster, and thief, who preyed on Western tourists travelling on the hippie trail of South Asia during the 1970s. The journalist followed him for two weeks and wrote reports on him with photographs in The Himalayan Times. His mother blamed Charles for her misery. In Goa, he was arrested again by Inspector Madhukar Zende of the Mumbai Police at O Coqueiro restaurant.
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