'The Serpent' returns: 'Bikini killer' Charles Sobhraj flown back to France after his release from Nepal jail

Notorious serial killer Charles Sobhraj, son of an Indian and Vietnamese couple, was deported to France on Friday after he was released from a prison in Nepal where he served his maximum sentence for committing a series of murders across Asia in the 1970s.The 78-year-old Sobhraj was released from Kathmandu’s Central Jail on Friday and taken away by the Department of Immigration in a police convoy, which was heavily guarded.

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Nepal’s immigration department and the French embassy worked in collaboration to prepare Sobhraj’s travel documents. One of the serial killer’s lawyers, Sudesh Subedi, said that Sobhraj’s daughter and mother are waiting for him in Paris.

Nepalese Ministry of Home Affairs’ joint secretary and spokesperson Fanindra Mani Pokharel said that Sobhraj will not be allowed to enter the country in the next 10 years.

"The home ministry has deported Charles Sobhraj, barring him from entering Nepal for the next 10 years," said Pokharel as quoted by The Kathmandu Post newspaper. Sobhraj boarded Qatar Airways flight QR647 to Doha from where he flewto Paris.

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Earlier, Sobhraj’s lawyer Gopal Shivakoti Chintan said that the serial killer was taken by authorities to Tribhuvan International Airport from where he was to be deported to France.

According to media reports, Sobhraj was willing to stay in Nepal and had requested admission to the Gangalal Hospital to receive treatment for a period of 10 days.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the prison management authority to free Charles Sobhraj and deport him to France in a period of 15 days through immigration unless the killer is wanted in any other case.

(With inputs from agencies)