Nepal court postpones verdict on Charles Sobhraj

Kathmandu, July 14 (ANI): The Supreme Court of Nepal on Wednesday postponed the final verdict on a murder case against Charles Sobhraj, the bikini killer.

Justices Ram Kumar Prasad Shah and Gauri Dhakal said the verdict on the case would be announced on July 30, as they were not able to go through the complete arguments submitted by the prosecution and Sobhraj's lawyers within the given time.

This is the third time that the Supreme Court has put off announcing its final sentence on the murder of American tourist Connie Jo Bronzich in 1975.

Earlier, Sobhraj's lawyers argued that there was no concrete evidence to convict him in the three-decade-old murder case.

Sobhraj 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, Sobhraj 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)