French serial killer Charles Sobhraj, who is also known as The Serpent or the Bikini Killer, has been released from jail after 19 years of imprisonment, on the order of the Nepal Supreme Court. He has been lodged in Nepali jail since 2003 on charges of murder.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court in the Himalayan nation ordered the release of Sobhraj on the grounds of old age and deteriorating health conditions.
Now, according to a report in France24, Charles Sobhraj, who is responsible for multiple murders in the 1970s across Asia, has left for France on Friday after being freed from the Nepali prison.
READ | Who is ‘Bikini Killer’ Charles Sobhraj, French murderer who preyed on 20 tourists through his ‘charm’?
Since 2003, he was serving his sentence in a Nepal jail on the charge of murdering two American tourists. The court concluded that the 78-year-old will be set free as he had already completed 95 percent of his jail term.
In the verdict delivered on Wednesday evening, Supreme Court said, "The regulation on prison management envisions a waiver of up to 75 percent of the jail term of the prisoners over 65 years of age and with good conduct."
.
READ | Covid 4th wave scare: Testing of passengers to begin today, airlines' crew to identify international arrivals
Sobhraj's lawyers had long been demanding the court's intervention for clemency. In different petitions, they had demanded a waiver of his jail sentence, citing provisions of Clause 12 (1) of the Senior Citizens Act 2063. The court has now ordered the government to make arrangements for repatriating Sobhraj to his home country within 15 days.
Charles Sobhraj, who is a French serial killer with Indian and Vietnamese parentage, is known to have killed at least 20 people by duping them through his “charm and handsome personality”.
