Spotlighted : May 2006

 

 

 

In 1973,Interpol first caught sight of a man named Alain Gautier-who was wanted for an attempted robbery of a hotel in Ashoke,Afgahnistan;soon after investigating other crimes throughout Afgahnistan,Interpol found out that Alain Gautier was an alias for a man named Gurhmuk Sobhraj(who had his name changed to Charles).A warrant for Sobhraj was now placed throughout the world.In July of 1976,authorities in Delhi,India were called to a hotel where a man was being accused of poisoning a large group of student tourists-the man turned out to be Sobhraj.Sobhraj was taken into custody along with three women,who were traveling with him at this time(Marie,Mary Ellen and Barbara).Almost immediately,during questioning with two of the women---Barbara & Mary Ellen---they confessed everything they knew about Sobhraj and his crimes.Alwhile,evidence and warrants from around the world began to clutter the desk of India's officials-telling of Sobhraj's crimes(these included a warrant from Thailand for at least ten first-degree murders,a warrant from Greece for escaping prison,and two warrants from Afgahanistan for escaping prison & attempted robbery).At this point,it didn't matter if Sobhraj confessed to his crimes or not-the physical evidence was overwhelming.But,after two weeks in custody,Sobhraj finally confessed to the crimes against him.

 

 

It took nearly two years for Sobhraj to go to trial in India due to the overwhelming prison population that was awaiting trial.Finally,in 1977,Sobhraj went to trial where one of the women who had traveled with him---Mary Ellen---testified against him;she stated that she in-fact saw Sobhraj poison Salomon.During the trial,Sobhraj went on a hunger-strike,stating that the conditions of the jail he was being held at were inhumane.But,during most of the trial,Sobhraj hired and fired lawyers until near the end of the trial,when Sobhraj decided to represent himself.Sobhraj was soon found guilty of administering drugs with the intent to rob,causing harm to commit robbery and manslaughter(the manslaughter charge- Sobhraj was soon acquitted of);Sobhraj now faced the death penalty.The only defense Sobhraj maintained was that he believed serving time in Tihar prison was punishment enough,unfortunately,the judge agreed(most believe that the judge was paid-off by Sobhraj) and Sobhraj was sentenced to seven-years in Tihar prison.Soon after being sentenced-Sobhraj was found guilty of the attempted robbery of the student tourists,and an additional five years was added onto his sentence.On March 16,1986---while serving his sentence---Sobhraj escaped from Tihar prison but was caught soon afterwards,and charged than found guilty of drug assault(he had drugged the prison guards in order to escape) and escaping.But,nothing was added onto his sentence.On February 17,1997-Sobhraj was released from Tihar prison,after serving his sentence,and was suppose to be extradicted to Thailand for the warrants that were issued against him in 1975(for the ten first-degree murders)but,by 1997,too many of the witnesses to the murders had died and so much evidence had been lost that it was impossible to make a case against him.Sobhraj was now a free man and,when he was released,he was deported to France where he lived until 2003-in September of thus-said year,Sobhraj's photo was shown in the Himalayan Times,stating that he had been spotted at the Casino Royale in the Yak And Yeti Hotel in Katmandu,Nepal.On September 19,Sobhraj was arrested on charges that there was proof that he was using a fake passport in Nepal 1975,but the real reason for his arrest was to question him about Bronzich's & Carrierre's murders.He was released on the passport charges in October,but quickly after,he was arrested on the latter murder charges.Sobhraj went to trial on April 9,2004 for the murder of Bronzich(he wasn't charged with Carrierre's murder because the "file could not be found").He was found guilty,and on August 12,2004-he was sentenced to life in prison in India after three hours of deliberations(life in prison in India is 20-years).On November 3,2004---while serving his sentence---Sobhraj tried to escape by getting a friend of his to send a chemical compound that causes a person to loose consciousness,but the guards became aware of this and spoiled his attempt;Sobhraj was moved to Kathmandu prison afterwards,and is currently being investigated for the murder of Tremont.