ID :
28186
Mon, 11/03/2008 - 16:26
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/28186
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No relief for 'Bikini killer' Sobhraj
Shirish B. Pradhan
Kathmandu, Nov 2 (PTI) There was no relief for Charles Gurmukh Sobhraj as Nepal's top court Sunday failed to wrap up a key hearing on an appeal by the celebrity criminal, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering an American tourist in Kathmandu.
The two-judge Supreme Court bench comprising judges
Min Bahadur Rayamajhi and Kalyan Shrestha heard the appeal of
Sobhraj, but failed to deliver its verdict in the case as it
decided to continue the hearing. No date was fixed by the apex
court for the next hearing.
The hearing on the appeal of Sobhraj has been marked
by repeated postponements and delays. Last week, the hearing
had been postponed due to the non availability of one of the
Judges.
Nicknamed the "Bikini killer" and "Serpent",
64-year-old Sobhraj has been accused of luring young women and
killing many of them. The celebrity criminal was arrested from
a Kathmandu casino in August 2003 and has been sentenced to
life imprisonment by a District Court in July 2004 on charges
of murdering an American tourist in Kathmandu in 1975.
Sobhraj has lined up top lawyers who have argued that
he was put in jail without any evidence and believes that the
celebrity criminal will be released by the top court.
Sobhraj's lawyers, including Shakuntala Thapa, mother
of Nepali beauty Nihita Bishwas who claims to have wedded the
criminal mastermind last month, argued his case in the court,
which re-opened after the Diwali holidays.
The court, however failed to deliver its final verdict
in the case Sunday as the judges decided to continue the
hearing, according to Supreme Court lawyer Dinesh Tripathi.
The date for the next hearing has not yet been fixed, he
added. Sobhraj is involved three cases, including two related
to use of fake passports.
Sobhraj was arrested from Casino Royale in Kathmandu
in August 2003 and Kathmandu District Court sentenced him to
life imprisonment in the murder of American tourist Connie Jo
Bronzich in 1975.
The Patan Appellate Court had earlier endorsed the
district court's decision in an appeal by Sobhraj, who is
serving life imprisonment in Kathmandu's Cental Jail. Sobhraj
then turned to the Supreme Court as the last resort, pleading
innocence.
With authorities having tightened security for the
"serial killer", the twenty-year-old Bishwas, who claims to
have married Sobhraj last month, is looking forward for the
release of her lover. Sobhraj fell in love with the Nepali
beauty four months ago when she met him to apply for a job as
a translator.
Meanwhile, authorities in the central jail have
clamped down on visitors wanting to meet Sobhraj, fearing that
the claim of his marriage to Bishwas may be a "trick" to
escape from custody.
"We did not allow Nihita and other visitors, barring
his lawyers, to meet Sobhraj as he may be playing tricks to
escape from the jail by pretending to marry the girl," a staff
at the capital's Central Jail said on condition of anonymity.
PTI S.B.P.
Kathmandu, Nov 2 (PTI) There was no relief for Charles Gurmukh Sobhraj as Nepal's top court Sunday failed to wrap up a key hearing on an appeal by the celebrity criminal, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering an American tourist in Kathmandu.
The two-judge Supreme Court bench comprising judges
Min Bahadur Rayamajhi and Kalyan Shrestha heard the appeal of
Sobhraj, but failed to deliver its verdict in the case as it
decided to continue the hearing. No date was fixed by the apex
court for the next hearing.
The hearing on the appeal of Sobhraj has been marked
by repeated postponements and delays. Last week, the hearing
had been postponed due to the non availability of one of the
Judges.
Nicknamed the "Bikini killer" and "Serpent",
64-year-old Sobhraj has been accused of luring young women and
killing many of them. The celebrity criminal was arrested from
a Kathmandu casino in August 2003 and has been sentenced to
life imprisonment by a District Court in July 2004 on charges
of murdering an American tourist in Kathmandu in 1975.
Sobhraj has lined up top lawyers who have argued that
he was put in jail without any evidence and believes that the
celebrity criminal will be released by the top court.
Sobhraj's lawyers, including Shakuntala Thapa, mother
of Nepali beauty Nihita Bishwas who claims to have wedded the
criminal mastermind last month, argued his case in the court,
which re-opened after the Diwali holidays.
The court, however failed to deliver its final verdict
in the case Sunday as the judges decided to continue the
hearing, according to Supreme Court lawyer Dinesh Tripathi.
The date for the next hearing has not yet been fixed, he
added. Sobhraj is involved three cases, including two related
to use of fake passports.
Sobhraj was arrested from Casino Royale in Kathmandu
in August 2003 and Kathmandu District Court sentenced him to
life imprisonment in the murder of American tourist Connie Jo
Bronzich in 1975.
The Patan Appellate Court had earlier endorsed the
district court's decision in an appeal by Sobhraj, who is
serving life imprisonment in Kathmandu's Cental Jail. Sobhraj
then turned to the Supreme Court as the last resort, pleading
innocence.
With authorities having tightened security for the
"serial killer", the twenty-year-old Bishwas, who claims to
have married Sobhraj last month, is looking forward for the
release of her lover. Sobhraj fell in love with the Nepali
beauty four months ago when she met him to apply for a job as
a translator.
Meanwhile, authorities in the central jail have
clamped down on visitors wanting to meet Sobhraj, fearing that
the claim of his marriage to Bishwas may be a "trick" to
escape from custody.
"We did not allow Nihita and other visitors, barring
his lawyers, to meet Sobhraj as he may be playing tricks to
escape from the jail by pretending to marry the girl," a staff
at the capital's Central Jail said on condition of anonymity.
PTI S.B.P.
