Nihita Biswas, wife of serial killer Charles Sobhraj, said on his release from jail that it has been long awaited and that they are elated. "The main thing is that I want him to get back safely. We have been waiting for him for all these years. We are going to receive him nicely, he is going to get a proper health check-up," said Nihita Biswas.
"We're trying to send him back to his family in France by evening for security reasons. After heart surgery, he had some issues. He might need another surgery," she added.
Health and family are priorities for him now, she said.
French serial killer Charles Sobhraj was released on Friday from the Central Jail in Nepal.
Charles Sobhraj in Nepal Police custody in a file photo.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of the Himalayan nation ordered the release of Sobhraj on the grounds of old age and deteriorating health conditions.
Since 2003, he has been serving his sentence in Nepali jail on the charge of murdering two American tourists. The court concluded that the 78-year-old will be set free as he had already completed 95 per cent of his jail term.
In the verdict delivered on Wednesday evening, Supreme Court said, "The regulation on prison management envisions a waiver of up to 75 per cent of the jail term of the prisoners over 65 years of age and with good conduct."
Sobhraj's lawyers had long been demanding the court's intervention for clemency. In different petitions, they had demanded a waiver of his jail sentence, citing provisions of Clause 12 (1) of the Senior Citizens Act 2063. The court has now ordered the government to make arrangements for repatriating Sobhraj to his home country within 15 days.
"Kept in prison here at Central Jail for a long time, the French national Charles Sobhraj has been ordered to be released by the Supreme Court on 21st December. We checked the records of Kathmandu and Bhaktapur District Court and have requested clearance from them over the cases registered against him. We are now preparing to release him from prison and then we will hand him over to the Department of Immigration. We will take him to the department after they finish their preparations," Ishwori Prasad Pandey, the Jailer at Central Jail in Kathmandu told reporters before Sobhraj underwent medical checkups.
The notorious criminal has also appealed to Nepal authorities to let him stay in a hotel and undergo open heart surgery at the Gangalal Heart Hospital in Kathmandu. But the authorities are yet to decide on it.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
