The Bikini Killer

Charles Gurmukh Sobhraj was born in Saigon, Vietnam, which was under French rule at the time. He later claimed French citizenship. His unmarried mother was Vietnamese, and his father was from Mumbai. His father left the family shortly after Sobhraj's birth.

Sobhraj was adopted by his mother's new boyfriend, a French lieutenant stationed in Saigon. The couple got married, and the family moved to Marseille, France, but they also frequently relocated back to Asia.

THE CRIMES

In 1960, at the age of 16, Sobhraj began stealing and was first imprisoned in 1963 for a burglary. He was sentenced to three years in Poissy prison near Paris. During his time behind bars, Sobhraj refined his manipulative skills.

When Sobhraj was released on parole in 1969, he moved in with Felix d'Escogne, a man he had met in prison. During this time, he met a young lady named Chantal from a conservative Parisian family, and they fell in love.

On the night Sobhraj proposed to Chantal, he was arrested for fleeing from the police in a stolen car. He spent another eight months in Poissy prison. Chantal waited for him, and they got married after his release. She became pregnant, but the couple was concerned that French authorities had their eyes on Sobhraj. Therefore, they decided to go to Asia and began traveling through Eastern Europe with forged travel documents. They would befriend fellow travelers and then rob them of their belongings.

In 1970, the couple arrived in Bombay, India, where Chantal gave birth to their daughter. They settled there to provide a stable environment for their child. However, Sobhraj had returned to a life of crime and operated a car theft and smuggling business. Instead of using the profits for his family, he spent them on gambling.

In December 1971, the couple fled to Kabul, Afghanistan, where they stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel for an extended period, apparently without ever paying the bill. Here, Sobhraj made connections and became involved in illegal arms smuggling. He transported the weapons overland from Afghanistan to India. Sobhraj then moved on to Pakistan, where he stole a car in Rawalpindi by drugging the driver, who died from poisoning. Around this time, he is also believed to have operated a shop in Bangkok to lure foreign tourists. He would sometimes drug them until they died and steal their belongings.

In 1973, Sobhraj committed an armed robbery at a jewelry store in Delhi but was arrested and imprisoned. After spending fourteen days in jail, Sobhraj faked appendicitis and managed to escape during a power outage. Sobhraj and Chantal fled, but he was soon recaptured and sent back to prison. Once released on bail, the couple returned from India to Afghanistan.

They settled in Kabul, where they started robbing tourists following the "Hippie Trail" between Europe and East Asia. Again arrested, Sobhraj escaped once more by feigning illness and drugging the hospital attendant. This time, he left his family behind and fled to Iran.

Tired of her husband's unsettled life, Chantal returned to France with their daughter. Over the next two years, Sobhraj remained on the run, traveling through Eastern Europe and the Middle East, always using stolen passports. His younger brother André joined him in Istanbul, and the two went on a crime spree in Greece and Turkey. The brothers were arrested in Athens but Sobhraj managed to escape again.

In 1975, Sobhraj moved to Thailand and became involved in a series of heinous crimes that earned him the infamous nickname "The Bikini Killer." He targeted Western tourists, particularly young backpackers who were traveling through Southeast Asia.

Sobhraj would approach his victims, often posing as a gem dealer or a wealthy traveler, and gain their trust. He was known for his charisma and ability to manipulate others. Once he gained their confidence, he would drug them with a potent cocktail of drugs, primarily a mix of sedatives and narcotics.

After incapacitating his victims, Sobhraj would rob them of their valuables, including money, passports, and other personal belongings. Tragically, his crimes escalated, and he began killing some of his victims, likely to eliminate any potential witnesses or to satisfy his sadistic impulses.

The exact number of victims attributed to Sobhraj remains uncertain, but it is believed that he was responsible for the deaths of at least 12 individuals between 1975 and 1976. His victims came from various countries, including the United States, Canada, France, Israel, and India.

Sobhraj's crimes started gaining attention when the bodies of several young tourists were discovered in Thailand and neighboring countries. The authorities began to piece together the evidence and connect the dots, eventually linking the murders to Sobhraj.

In 1976, Sobhraj's reign of terror came to an end when he was arrested in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Nepalese police captured him after recognizing his face from a newspaper article. Sobhraj was initially detained for visa violations, but further investigations revealed his involvement in multiple murders.

During his trial in Nepal, Sobhraj gained significant media attention and continued to display his manipulative nature. He defended himself and tried to portray himself as a misunderstood figure. Nevertheless, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Since his imprisonment, Sobhraj has made several attempts to secure his release, including filing numerous appeals and petitions. However, he remains incarcerated, serving his life sentence in Nepal's Central Jail in Kathmandu.

Charles Sobhraj's story continues to captivate the public's imagination, and his crimes have been the subject of books, documentaries, and even a television series. His case serves as a chilling reminder of the dangers that can lurk beneath the surface, even in seemingly idyllic travel destinations.