CHARLES SOBHRAJ

Charles Sobhraj—Inside the heart of the Bikini Killer by Raamesh Koirala; Published by Rupa ; Pages 204  ;Price Rs 500/-

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Literally the author goes inside the heart of Charles Sobhraj since he is a Heart surgeon and operated on him. And what a graphic account !.

Raamesh Koirala is a renowned cardiac surgeon in Nepal. He writes in leading newspapers and is known for his sharp views on current issues, mainly on public health and politics. He is a known literary figure in his home country with two popular books,Aama Ko Mutu and Kopila Ashram .

 A bit about Sobhraj to those uninitiated.

Charles Sobhraj was born in Vietnam in 1944 and  embarked on a life of crime in Europe in the 1960s. He is credited with over two dozen murders in the 1970s but was lucky  to escape jail  several times.He became known as  "The Serpent." Finally in 1976  he was caught in Goa by Zende He spent most of the following twenty years  locked up. He was convicted again in 2004 for an earlier murder.

Sobhraj was the son of an Indian father and a Vietnamese mother. He spent part of his childhood on the rough streets of Saigon, and after his mother married an officer in the French Army, he split his time between Indochina and France. Placed in a French boarding school, Sobhraj gave a taste of what was to come by attempting to run away a number of times.

It all began in the beginning of  1960s when  he was  arrested twice in Paris for auto theft. He  married a Parisian woman named Chantal Compagnon and tried  to reform himself, but before long he was bouncing around Europe with his young wife, engaging in crimes like robbery and smuggling. 

Sobhraj eventually linked up with Canadian Marie-Andrée Leclerc, who became his mistress and accomplice. During the 1970s, he assumed a series of identities as his crimes grew increasingly serious; according to some estimates, he murdered more than 20 people from 1972 to 1976. Sobhraj became known as the "Bikini Killer" after one of his victims was discovered wearing one.

For years, Sobhraj travelled around Europe and Asia, escaping custody in several countries. Handsome, charming and fluent in several languages, he was a skilled con artist who often targeted the young backpackers on what was known as the "Hippie Trail," which runs through Afghanistan and Nepal into Southeast Asia.

An improperly planned  attack in 1976 was  his undoing. He  attempted to poison some  French tourists in India, but administered wrong  doses and was caught  when police arrived to help. While Thailand wanted him extradited to face murder charges there, the Indian government decided to try Sobhraj and Leclerc for the murder of an Israeli tourist. Convicted on a lesser charge, Sobhraj was sentenced to seven years of hard labour, with time added on for drugging the French tourists. The Thai government was told that it would have to wait until after he finished his sentence before he would be able to be tried there.

In 1986, Sobhraj escaped from Tihar Jail in New Delhi after drugging guards during a party. Although he was captured less than a month later, it was believed to be yet another calculated move by the Serpent. With additional time tacked on for the escape, Sobhraj remained in prison in India as the 20-year statute of limitations on his crimes in Thailand ran out, allowing him to avoid what likely would have been the death penalty. Released in 1997, he returned to Paris and enjoyed a celebrity lifestyle.

Sobhraj's newfound freedom would only a few months  as he was arrested in Nepal in 2003. The following year, he was convicted of the 1975 murder of American backpacker Connie Jo Bronzich. Sentenced to a life term, he allegedly attempted another prison escape in 2004, and unsuccessfully appealed to have his sentence overturned.

Sobhraj's problems mounted in 2014, when he was convicted in a Nepal court of the 1975 murder of Canadian tourist Laurent Carriere. The ruling was upheld by an appellate court in 2015. While in jail in Kathmandu, Sobhraj married Biswas, who is 44 years his junior and the daughter of his lawyer.

The book under review  is written by Raamesh Koirala, a cardio surgeon working in Nepal who found  himself in a dilemma when he is approached to treat Charles Sobhraj. As a doctor it is  his duty  to treat everyone equally, but his conscience worries if it morally right to provide treatment to such a ruthless killer who showed not a pang of regret. True to his profession Koirala opts  to treat Sobhraj. This is the beginning of striking  episodes that take place at the hospital. The doctor is fascinated by  Sobhraj and has a lot of unanswered questions about him and through his observation of the patient and by talking to him, the doctor finds answers. We are also taken through the ventures  that the doctor undertakes along with his friends.  Nepal comes out in all its beauty.

Charles Sobhraj, 73, underwent a five-hour surgery to repair the valves in his heart.

"It was a four-hour surgery but they had to extend it for another hour because they found that the other valve was also damaged. Right now they say that he's stable."

Raamesh Koirala -- one of three surgeons involved in the complicated procedure -- said Sobhraj would remain sedated for 24 hours.

"We cannot say he is out of danger for 24 hours and maybe longer. But the operation was normal," said the surgeon, who is a distant relative of Biswas,Shobraj’s wife.

 It is an interesting book for those who want to know more about Charles Sobhraj or his cases.It offers   glimpses of Charles Sobhraj sans  the glitz and trappings lent to his image by Media . It is not the cold, calculated ‘Bikini Killer’ we find here,  “but a balding man worried about his failing health; a man who requests the doctor to put off his surgery for a few days because he is afraid; a frail man who bursts into tears when he learns the operation has only a slim chance of success”.According to the Doctor Sobhraj recovered faster than anyone would have recovered.

 This book explores the ethical dilemmas and the choices we have to make to remain true to ourselves. It unfolds the skewed functions of the brutal brain of a serial killer who was not touched by a tinge of remorse.

 This is an unusual book, worth reading.

P.P.Ramachandran.

20/01/2019.