Charles Sobraj's girlfriend says she is getting extortion calls

Kathmandu, July 29 : Nihita Biswas, the girlfriend of master criminal Charles Sobraj, has said that she is receiving extortion calls on her cell phone.

Twenty-year-old Biswas claimed that she has been getting these calls soon after announcing her plans to marry Sobraj.

"Who is that reporter who dragged my name in the media following the attempt of my kidnapping and call for kidnapping and SMS through the telephone number 9841798001. The SMS came two times through this very number," Biswas said.

A man also demanded ten million rupees, she added.

"There was a threat sent through a man demanding one crore from Charles and me, saying 'otherwise ask your girl to come out of the media'. We will torture and in case we need to, we will kill," said Biswas.

The 1970s master criminal -- known variously as "The Serpent" and the "Bikini Killer" -- Sobraj is serving a 20-year jail term in a Nepal jail for the murder of an American tourist.

Although 64-year-old Sobraj, a French citizen, is being held for violating immigration laws, police in Nepal are charging him with the murder of two backpackers, a Canadian and an American, in 1975.

Sobraj is also accused of killing over 20 young western backpackers across Asia, usually by drugging their food or drink, while on a criminal spree in the 1970s and 1980s.

Thailand issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of drugging and killing six girls, all wearing bikinis, at the beach resort town of Pattaya in 1975. He was jailed in India before he could stand trial on those charges.

A master of disguise and escape, Sobraj served more than two decades in and out of Indian jails on a string of charges including murder and robbery before returning to France in 1997.

Born to an Indian father and a Vietnamese mother, his criminal exploits across Asia have been the subject of a film, two books and countless newspaper and magazine articles.

ANI