 "PM Modi compares Arvind Kejriwal to serial killer: Who is Charles Sobhraj?")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has once again compared Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to Charles Sobhraj, the notorious serial killer and conman, in the lead-up to the Delhi Assembly elections. Addressing a rally in Kartar Nagar on Wednesday, Modi accused Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders of misleading the public and likened them to Sobhraj, infamous for his ability to deceive people.
“Those who built sheesh mahal and looted public money worth thousands of crores can never think of the welfare of the poor. That is why they are spreading lies in Delhi. These AAP-da people lie so convincingly that people fall for them,” Modi said.
“You may have heard of Charles Sobhraj. He was a known thug, but he was such an expert at deceiving people with innocence that they kept getting fooled by him. That is why one has to remain cautious of such people,” he added.
Who is Charles Sobhraj?
Charles Gurmukh Sobhraj is a French serial killer, fraudster, and thief who gained notoriety for targeting Western tourists on the “hippie trail” across South Asia in the 1970s. Dubbed “The Serpent” for his ability to assume multiple identities and evade capture, he was also called the “Bikini Killer” as several of his victims were young women found murdered in swimwear.
Murders and modus operandi
Sobhraj has been linked to over 20 murders between 1972 and 1982. His crimes followed a pattern—he would befriend tourists, gain their trust, then drug, rob, and ultimately kill them, often through strangulation, burning, or beating. Using stolen passports, he travelled freely across borders, making it difficult for authorities to track him.
Criminal beginnings
Born in 1944 in what is now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to an Indian father and a Vietnamese mother, Sobhraj had a troubled childhood. He later acquired French citizenship through his mother, as Vietnam was a French colony at the time.
As a teenager, he started committing petty crimes and received his first prison sentence for burglary in 1963 in France. While serving time at Poissy prison, he manipulated officials into granting him special privileges—foreshadowing his future ability to deceive people.
Also Read
After his release, Sobhraj entered Parisian high society while simultaneously engaging in burglaries and scams. In 1970, he fled France to escape arrest, travelling through Eastern Europe using fake documents and robbing tourists. He eventually reached Mumbai, where he set up a car theft and smuggling operation.
Crimes in India
Sobhraj’s criminal activities escalated in India, Nepal, and Thailand, where he became infamous for drugging, robbing, and murdering travellers.
In 1973, he was arrested in Delhi for an attempted armed robbery at a jeweller’s shop at The Ashok Hotel. He faked an illness to escape but was recaptured. He later fled to Kabul, where he resumed robbing tourists before escaping again by drugging a hospital guard.
By 1975, he had formed a criminal network, including his Canadian girlfriend Marie-Andrée Leclerc and Indian associate Ajay Chowdhury. Together, they targeted Western backpackers in Thailand and Nepal.
Interpol issued an international arrest warrant against Sobhraj in 1976, linking him to four murders in Thailand. He was arrested in India the same year after a group of French post-graduate students caught on to his scam.
Escape from Tihar Jail
His notoriety grew after his dramatic escape from Delhi’s Tihar Jail in 1986. Along with six other inmates, he drugged prison officials by offering them spiked sweets before escaping in a waiting car. He was recaptured nearly a month later in Goa and sentenced to 10 more years in prison.
Imprisonment in Nepal
After his release from Tihar, Sobhraj was arrested in Nepal, where he was convicted of the 1975 murders of American tourist Connie Jo Bronzich and her Canadian friend Laurent Carriere. He was sentenced to two consecutive 20-year prison terms. He remained incarcerated in Nepal until 2022 when, citing his age and good behaviour, a Nepalese court ordered his release.
Following his release, he was deported to France and banned from re-entering Nepal for at least 10 years.
Charles Sobhraj in pop culture
Sobhraj’s life and crimes have inspired several adaptations. In 2021, BBC and Netflix released The Serpent, a drama series based on his story. More recently, Netflix released Black Warrant in January 2025, directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, which explores his time in Tihar Jail during the 1980s. Actor Sidhant Gupta portrays Sobhraj in this adaptation.
Modi’s comparison of Kejriwal to Sobhraj
Modi’s reference to Sobhraj in his attack on Kejriwal follows a pattern of the Prime Minister using strong rhetoric against political opponents. He accused AAP leaders of deception, claiming they misled the public with false promises, just as Sobhraj tricked his victims.
The Delhi Assembly elections are scheduled for February 5, with vote counting set for February 8.
Kejriwal and AAP are yet to respond to Modi’s remarks comparing them to the infamous serial killer.