International serial killer ‘The Serpent’ arrested in casino (Charles Sobhraj)

A self-confessed murderer known as The Serpent, who for decades evaded charges of drugging, robbing and murdering more than a dozen tourists in Europe and Asia, has been arrested in Nepal.

Charles Sobhraj - who earned his nickname for his talent at disguise and escape - is suspected of killing at least 20 people in India, Thailand, Afghanistan, Turkey, Nepal, Iran and Hong Kong between 1972 and 1982.

Already the subject of three books, he has signed a £10 million movie and book deal with French actor-producer Yves Renier.

Sobhraj, 59, was picked up by police at a casino in Kathmandu earlier. He is expected to appear in court on Monday.

The police said they had been searching for him since a newspaper published photographs of a man in baseball hat and blue jeans they alleged was Sobhraj getting on a motorcycle in Kathmandu.

Sobhraj had been living at a hotel in the capital’s Thamel tourist district for the past two weeks, trying to establish a pashmina shawl business, The Himalayan Times newspaper reports.

Police officials speaking on condition of anonymity said they wanted to question him about the unsolved 1975 murders of two backpackers, Canadian Laddie du Parr and American Annabella Tremont, whose charred bodies were found on the outskirts of Kathmandu.

After serving 21 years in prison in India for theft, Sobhraj was deported in 1997 to France, where he was investigated for allegedly trying to poison a group of French tourists in India.

Sobhraj denies involvement in backpacker deaths
The confessed killer known as “the Serpent” accused of murdering dozens of tourists across Asia, has denied involvement in the deaths of two young women in 1975 in Nepal.
Charles Sobhraj was picked up yesterday at a casino in Kathmandu and questioned about the unsolved murders of an American and a Canadian backpacker whose charred bodies were found on the city’s outskirts.
Police say Sobhraj, 59, came to Nepal in 1975 on a Dutch passport under the alias Henricus Bintanja and now has a French passport with the name Charles Sobhraj Gurmukh.
Sobhraj denied involvement in the killings, insisting during questioning that this was his first trip to the Himalayan country, police official Ganesh Chetri said. He is expected to appear in court on Monday.
Sobhraj, who earned his nickname for his talent at disguise and escape, is suspected of killing at least 20 people in India, Thailand, Afghanistan, Turkey, Nepal, Iran and Hong Kong between 1972 and 1982.
Police said they began searching for Sobhraj after a newspaper published photographs on Wednesday of the alleged serial killer getting on a motorcycle in Nepal’s capital.
The Himalayan Times said Sobhraj had been living at a hotel in Kathmandu’s tourist district for two weeks, trying to establish a pashmina shawl business.
After serving 21 years in prison in India for theft, Sobhraj was deported in 1997 to France, where he was investigated for allegedly trying to poison a group of French tourists in India.
Sobhraj has admitted to killing young Western tourists. When he was released from the Indian prison, he said he regretted aspects of his past.
© Associated Press

‘Bikini killer’ Sobhraj arrested
BIKASH SANGRAULA [Kathmandu Post]
Kathmandu, Sept 19 - A team of police officers headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police Deg Bahadur GC arrested the notorious criminal Charles Sobhraj on immigration charges today. He was arrested this morning at four from the Casino Royale at Durbar Marg. He was staying in Room No 203 of Garden Hotel in Sohrakhutte.
Sobhraj, 59, formerly a top name featuring in the ‘Most Wanted List’ in many countries around the globe, came to Nepal in 1975 with Dutch Passport #S428929 bearing the name of Bintanja Henricus. On September 1, 2003, he arrived in Kathmandu from Dubai with French Passport #02Y18667 under the name of Charles Sobhraj Gurmukh.”He has been arrested for arriving in Nepal on two separate occasions with two different passports,” Deputy Inspector General of Police Keshav Baral said, adding, “He was arrested under the Immigration Law, and was presented to the immigration department today. He could also be tried for the murders of two foreigners in 1975.”
Sobhraj is believed to have committed the murders of Laurant Armant Carierr of Canada on December 21, 1975 and that of Conijo Broniz of the United States on December 23, 1975. Residing then at the Soaltee Hotel, Sobhraj managed to flee Nepal under a fake identity. In 1976, the murder cases were filed at the Kathmandu District Court. Ever since, Nepal Police has had been looking for the ‘bikini killer’.However, convicting him for the murders could be an uphill task as the court documents are missing.
“The ultimate purpose of the arrests is to try him for the 1975 murders,” Superintendent of Police Binod Singh of Valley Crime Investigation Branch, Hanuman Dhoka told The Kathmandu Post today.
Similarly, Deputy Superintendent of Police Ganesh KC, chief investigation officer of the case, said that Sobhraj would be presented at the court for hearings on the 1975 killings. However, police officials failed to find the records of the case at the District Court of Kathmandu despite intensive search today.
Government advocate Dron Raj Regmi of the Attorney General’s Office said that in case of being convicted by the court for murder, a criminal could be apprehended regardless of the number of years that elapse since the court’s verdict.”For suspected involvement in murder, the suspect can be apprehended only within two years of the murder. For cases of evidence-backed allegations, the alleged murderer can be held anytime within twenty years. However, if convicted by the court for murder, there is no such time boundary,” Regmi said.
Sobhraj’s case belongs to the third category, according to DIG Baral. “He was convicted by the court. He will have to face it,” said Baral.However, Sobhraj has denied having come to Nepal before. “In the preliminary interrogations, he said that this was the first time he had come to Nepal,” DSP K.C said. Sobhraj has further claimed that he was here on a business-cum-pleasure trip.
Ever since his release from Tihar Jail of India in 1997, Sobhraj had been leading an apparently clean and quiet life in Paris. K C, however, expressed ignorance as to the charges Sobhraj would be tried for.
“We are yet to consult legal experts as to whether Sobhraj can be tried, and on what charges,” said KC.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.