Getting married to beloved might send Sobhraj to jail

Sat, Jul 5 03:45 PM

Charles Sobhraj's hope of settling down with a Nepali women when the celebrity criminal is released from Kathmandu's Central Jail may not materialise, for he may have to stay behind the bars for three more years if he ties the knot with his new found love.

Nicknamed the 'Bikini killer' and 'Serpent', Sobhraj has been accused of luring young women and killing many of them. He has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a District Court in July 2004 on charges of murdering an American and a Canadian tourist in Kathmandu in 1975.

The love affair of the criminal mastermind and his "engagement" to 20-year-old Nepali beauty Nihita Biswas has grabbed media attention in the Indian subcontinent.

Sixty-four-year-old Sobhraj has been 'engaged' with Nihita and plans to marry her when he is released from the Nepal prison, where he is languishing since September 2003.

Serving a life term on murder charge, Sobhraj is already married to Chantal, who lives in France. He also has a wife in Australia, a media report said. However, Sobhraj claims he has already divorced his first wife.

Nepalese law does not permit for polygamy and it can slap up to three years imprisonment on those who violate the law by engaging in second marriage, says lawyer Dinesh Tripathi.

"Unless he receives clearance from the French Embassy that he has divorced his first wife, he is not legally allowed to marry Nihita," he said. As per Civil Code Section 9, re-marriage has been prohibited.

"In such a case unless Nepalese authorities inquire into the matter with the French government and get clearance he cannot marry the girl in Nepal. But if he wishes to do so outside Nepal, they cannot prevent it," Tripathi said.

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