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The Great Escape: How ‘Bikini Killer’ Charles Sobhraj broke out of Tihar Jail and launched one of the greatest manhunts
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  • The Great Escape: How ‘Bikini Killer’ Charles Sobhraj broke out of Tihar Jail and launched one of the greatest manhunts

The Great Escape: How ‘Bikini Killer’ Charles Sobhraj broke out of Tihar Jail and launched one of the greatest manhunts

FP Explainers • December 22, 2022, 11:12:46 IST
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On 16 March 1986, Charles Sobhraj, known as the ‘Bikini Killer’, did the unthinkable; he broke out of India’s most guarded jails — Tihar Prison, leading to one of the greatest manhunts. A month later, Mumbai cop Madhukar Zende arrested him after saying the famous line: ‘Hello Charles. How are you?'

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The Great Escape: How ‘Bikini Killer’ Charles Sobhraj broke out of Tihar Jail and launched one of the greatest manhunts

After spending 19 years in a Nepalese prison, Charles Sobhraj, the French serial killer portrayed in the Netflix series The Serpent, is set to be freed on health grounds . The 78-year-old, who was responsible for a string of murders across Asia in the 1970s, was serving a life term in Kathmandu jail since 2003 for the murder of American Connie Jo Bronzich in 1975 in Nepal. In 2014, he was convicted of killing Laurent Carriere, a Canadian backpacker, and given another life sentence. Prior to his time in Kathmandu jail, Sobhraj, known as the ‘Bikini Killer’ and ‘The Serpent’ owing to his skill of deception and evasion, also spent time in India’s notorious prison — Tihar Jail in New Delhi — after he was arrested in July of 1976. The suave and charismatic killer earned even more notoriety and displayed his skills of manipulation and deceit when he broke free of the jail in 1986, launching one of the biggest manhunts in India. Sentenced to Tihar Jail Hatchand Bhaonani Gurumukh aka Charles Sobhraj, born in then-French-occupied Saigon, the son of an Indian businessman and a Vietnamese shop assistant, had earned notoriety, travelling the world and targeting “hippie” travellers — Western tourists backpacking through Asia. His modus operandi in most of his crimes was to spike their drinks and kill them, often with women accomplices. After leaving a trail of bodies across Asia, earning him the nickname of ‘Bikini Killer’, due to the attire of several of his victims, he made his way to India in 1976. Struggling to make ends meet, he saw an opportunity with a group of French post-graduate students who were visiting India on a vacation. With his charm and ability to manipulate, he got them to accept him as their guide and touched Indian shores in 1976. In July of the same year, he then gave the tourists poison pills, telling them it was anti-dysentery medicine. However, the drugs took effect more quickly than Sobhraj had anticipated, the students began to fall unconscious. Three of the students, realising what Sobhraj had done, overpowered him and contacted the police, leading to his capture. The crime landed him 12 years in prison and Sobhraj was sent to Tihar Jail. As per the law, following the end of his term, Indian authorities were supposed to hand him over to Thai Police where he awaited a death sentence. Therefore, that’s when he plotted a daring escape. The Great Escape On 16 March 1986, Sobhraj put into action his audacious plan to escape Tihar prison. He managed to get a drug runner, Richard Hall, to drive into the jail on a Sunday along with a basket of goodies — grapes, apples, chocolates, custard pudding, barfi and petha, all spiked with just the right amount of sedatives. His excuse for the sweets was that it was his birthday. The unsuspecting guards consumed the sweets and promptly fell unconscious, allowing Sobhraj to walk out of India’s most heavily guarded prison unchallenged. His smarts came into play when he bundled Anand Swarup, the drugged warder, into the car and as he drove away, letting his uniformed arm hang loosely out of the window, making the sentries believe that nothing was wrong since prison officials were in the car as well. The prison break made headlines everywhere, with the Hong Kong-based Asiaweek editorially writing: “Dr No. Goldfinger, Professor Moriarty, move over: Charles Sobhraj has you beat.” [caption id=“attachment_11853131” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Charles Sobhraj’s prison break from Tihar Jail is perhaps one of the most audacious ones in history. File image/AFP[/caption] A manhunt like no other After escaping Tihar, Sobhraj reportedly behaved more like a holidaying student than a desperate prisoner prepared to stop at nothing to evade justice. Many believe that he did this to evade his extradition to Thailand. As per Thai laws, the sentence would lapse after 20 years. People said that Sobhraj figured that even if he is caught, the Indian laws would require him to serve out another 10 years, which would make the Thai warrant invalid. His escape led to one of the largest manhunts in Indian police history. The person charged with the manhunt was Inspector Madhukar Zende of the Mumbai Police. Incidentally, Zende was no stranger to Sobhraj, as the sleuth had arrested him once before in Mumbai, in a carjacking case. Acting on information, Zende led his team to Goa, where Sobhraj was wandering the streets freely. Speaking to MailOnline years later, Zende said: “We spent days looking for him all over Goa but at night I would go to the O’Coquerio restaurant, a popular hippie hangout in Porvorim, Panaji’s then up and coming suburb. “I was convinced that if I sat there long enough, he would eventually appear because Charles loved being around hippies, drink and women. I was posing as a tourist and would sit at a table, ordering food and drinks just pretending that I was on holiday.” His hunch paid off and on a balmy evening in April 1986, Zende sees a bearded man walking into the O’Coquerio restaurant and occupying a table next to him. What followed next has now become a part of popular culture; Zende walked up to the man’s table, grabbed him from behind, turned him around and said: “Hello Charles. How are you?” He then tied Sobhraj’s hands with a rope which he asked a waiter to get for him as he did not have any handcuffs. He told MailOnline: “Sobhraj came quietly. We put him in the back of a jeep, and I ordered him to lie down and told two constables to sit on him for the entire 11-hour journey back to Mumbai because I was so worried that he would escape.” [caption id=“attachment_11853021” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Charles Sobhraj was arrested in Nepal for the murder of American Connie Jo Bronzich in 1975 and of Laurent Carriere, a Canadian backpacker. File image/AP[/caption] Incidentally, O’Coquerio, to this day, has a sculpture of the entire incident — Zende standing over Sobhraj and arresting him — at the very table where it unfolded. Sobhraj then served another 10 years in prison — again in Tihar — and in 1997, he was released from jail. He went back to France, but in 2003, he went to Nepal, where he was arrested again. In 2004, he was given life term in Nepal for killing an American woman, Connie Jo Bronzich, in 1975. Later, he was convicted for killing Bronzich’s American friend, Laurent Carrière. It was during his stay in Nepal that he also married local woman, Nihita Biswas, who participated in Bigg Boss’s Season 5. [caption id=“attachment_11853001” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] French serial killer Charles Sobhraj met his now wife while he was in Kathmandu prison. Sobhraj has been linked with a string of killings across Asia in the 1970s, earning the nickname “bikini killer.” File image/AFP[/caption] Charles’ life of crime and pop culture Sobhraj’s life and crimes have inspired pop culture and there have been movies, serials and even two biographies of him. Many who have met Sobhraj say that his life of crime stems from the feelings of rejection from his father. His parents were not married and his father never acknowledged paternity. Sobhraj had written in one of his diary entries: “I will make you regret that you have missed your father’s duty.” Sobhraj has been the subject of three non-fiction books, Serpentine (1979) by Thomas Thompson, The Life and Crimes of Charles Sobhraj (1980) by Richard Neville and Julie Clarke, and the section titled The Bikini Murders by Noel Barber in the Reader’s Digest collection, Great Cases of Interpol. In 2015, a Bollywood film titled Main Aur Charles, directed by Prawaal Raman was released. It was based on Sobhraj’s escape from Tihar Jail. But perhaps, the most popular dramatisation of Sobhraj’s life is the eight-part BBC miniseries called The Serpent and streamed on Netflix in April 2021. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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