Serial killer The Serpent, Charles Sobhraj, to be freed from Nepal jail

Colombo (News 1st) - Famed French serial killer Charles Sobhraj, who went on a crime spree in 10 countries in the 70s, and killed tourists in several of them, is to be released from a Nepal jail where he has languished for four decades due to his age - 78 years - and good behaviour.

Sobhraj's life was portrayed in the BBC drama The Serpent. He was finally jailed for the 1975 murder of two American and Canadian tourists in Kathmandu and was serving two life sentences. Nepal's supreme court has ordered that he now be deported to France. Sobhraj had already spent 20 years in prison in India. His victims included backpacking tourists in India and Thailand. 

Sobhraj is believed to have committed up to 20 killings between 1972 and 1982, in which he drugged his victims and either poisoned, strangled or burned them.

Known as "The Serpent" or "Bikini Killer" for his ability to disguise himself and to escape from many prisons, he targeted women backpackers. The BBC series 'The Serpent' became a hit on Netflix in 2020.