Vikramaditya Motwane directorial Netflix’s Black Warrant: Where is Charles Sobhraj now; Why was he set free?

Netflix’s Black Warrant talks about Charles Sobhraj. The role of Sobhraj is played by Sidhant Gupta. Undoubtedly one of the most charming men with a sharp mind was like a serpent.

Charles Sobhraj was born on 6 April 1944 in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam). His real name was Hotchand Bhawnani Gurmukh Sobhraj. According to several reports which made headlines, he was serial killer, fraudster, and thief who preyed on Western tourists travelling on the hippie trail of South Asia during the 1970s. He was known as the Bikini Killer because of the attire of several of his victims, as well as the Splitting Killer and the Serpent for “his snake-like ability to avoid detection by authorities.

Sobraj’s criminal record

Sidhant Gupta plays the role of Charles Sobraj . As per reports, Sobhraj murdered at least 20 tourists in South and Southeast Asia, including 14 in Thailand. He was convicted and jailed in India from 1976 to 1997. After his release he returned to France. Sobhraj went to Nepal in 2003, where he was arrested, tried, and given a life sentence. On 21 December 2022, the Supreme Court of Nepal ordered his release from prison because of his old age, after he had served 19 years of his prison term. On 23 December, he was released and deported to France.

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‘Black Warrant: Confessions of a Tihar Jailer’ by jailer Sunil Kumar Gupta and journalist Sunetra Choudhury, the series chronicles the true story of a prison officer’s 35-year journey through one of India’s most infamous correctional facilities.

Sunil Kumar Gupta on Charles Sobhraj

In an earlier chat with The Lallantop, Sunil Kumar Gupta, who also co-authored the book Black Warrant with journalist Sunetra Choudhury, recalled his experiences with Charles Sobhraj.

Gupta said, “He was known as the ‘lady killer’ and sometimes, I wondered that if I was a lady, he could’ve taken advantage of me. The way he spoke, there was a charm to it. He had a beautiful face, sharp eyes.”

Sunil mentioned that Sobhraj operated out of Goa and would start by befriending female foreigners. “He could charm any woman and age was no bar. After developing a friendship with them, he would call them for dinner, drug them, rape them and then run away with all their belongings. He was a brutal man.”

WATCH the trailer of Netflix’s Black Warrant here:

 (With added inputs from agencies)