New Delhi: In Netflix’s ‘Black Warrant’, a critically acclaimed crime thriller web series based on on the 2019 non-fiction book ‘Black Warrant: Confessions of a Tihar Jailer’ by Sunil Gupta and Sunetra Choudhury, the days of Charles Sobhraj in India’s famous Tihar jail has been shown. The character of Sobhraj, played by Sidhant Gupta, comes across as a suave, handsome and intelligent person who escaped from Tihar after drugging officers as has been shown in the web series. In real life too, Sobhraj was an extremely smooth-talker, something which enabled him to become one of the dreaded conmen and serial killers in modern history.
Charles Sobhraj: As suave as it gets, as deadly you can imagine
A real name you cannot fathom
It may appear as a bewildering fact but the birth-name of Charles Sobhraj is Hotchand Bhawnani Gurmukh Sobhraj. It is hard to associated the name with him isn’t it? Born on April 6, 1944, in Saigon, within the Indochinese Union, his father was an Indian Sindhi and his mother was Vietnamese. Since Sobhraj was born in a French colonial territory, he was eligible for French citizenship. Notably, his parents never got married and he was taken in by the new husband of his mother.
Becoming criminal from an early age
Charles Sobhraj began to commit petty crimes from his teenage years and even learned how to manipulate the prison guards. Along with a wealthy young man named Felix d’Escogne, he moved in the high society of France and expanded his criminal range. Even after meeting his eventual wife Chantal Compagnon, a young Parisian woman, he continued his criminal ways. In 1970, Sobhraj and his wife arrived in Mumbai from France where the latter gave birth to a baby girl, Usha. Following an unsuccessful armed robbery in New Delhi, Sobhraj was arrested and released on bail. Sobhraj fled to Kabul, Iran, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Turkey and Greece, leaving behind a trail of crimes.
Charles Sobhraj and a life full of scams
Charles Sobhraj wreaked havoc in India with his scams. He not only swindled innocent people of their money with the help of his assistants who followed him with utmost devotion, but he also murdered his victims. According to Sunil Gupta who met Sobhraj during his rookie years in Tihar as its jailer, he was ruthless and used to have rave parties in Goa with women. He used to add sedatives in their drinks, then rape, loot and even kill them.
He was arrested in 1976 and sent to Tihar, but Sobhraj made a mockery of the entire judicial process. He lived comfortably in the prison by bribing the guards and officials and turned his trial into a spectacle. Even though he was eventually sentenced to 12 years in prison. In March 1986, Sobhraj threw a big party in Tihar, drugged the guards and inmates with sweets laced with sleeping pills and escaped. He was arrested from Goa and his prison sentence was extended by ten years, but it would have little bearing on his life. On February 17, 1997, 52-year-old Sobhraj was released with most warrants evidence, and even witnesses against him long lost.
Sobhraj returned to France and became immensely popular, even sold the rights to a film based on his life for over $15 million. In 2003, he returned to Nepal where there was a strong chance of him being arrested, possibly because he was overconfident on himself. He was arrested in Nepal, and on August 20, 2004, Sobhraj was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Kathmandu district court. On December 23, 2022, he was released from prison due to his age and good behaviour.
Also known as the ‘Bikini Killer’ because of the attire of several of his victims and ‘the Serpent’ due to his ability to avoid detection, Sobhraj has remained a popular figure in the mainstream narrative. Films, web series and documentaries have been made on him, and Sobhraj has become a cult figure, albeit an infamous one for his thrilling life. Despite the fact that he has been portrayed by the media as a suave and smooth criminal who has become popular due to his charm, we cannot forget that Charles Sobhraj is a dreaded criminal who killed innocent people for his own benefit.
Netflix’s ‘Black Warrant’ shows the life of Charles Sobhraj, the notorious Serpent within India’s Tihar Jail. The series highlights Sobhraj’s cunning escapes and manipulative charm, contrasting his suave exterior with his brutal crimes. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
