Sobhraj to sue The Bikini Murders author, publisher

Bikini-killer Charles Gurmukh Sobhraj on Sunday threatened to file a defamation case against the author Farrukh Dhondy and the publisher of the novel The Bikini Murders for “tarnishing” his image.

Published by Harper Collins, the new novel, which has been inspired by the life of Sobhraj, was released in India on Friday.

“I have heard a lot about the book and read a lot of previews,” Sobhraj told Hindustan Times on Sunday at Kathmandu’s Central Jail, adding that he is hurt as the book was aimed at tarnishing his image.

Sobhraj said copies of the new novel are being sent to his lawyers in Paris and London to prepare a strong case against Dhondy and the publisher.

Also known as “The Serpent”, Sobhraj was arrested in September 2003 in Kathmandu on charges for murder of US citizen Connie Jo Bronzich and Canadian Laurent Ormond Carriere in 1975.

“I have also seen in newspaper reports that the author has claimed to have known me very well. It is totally false because I just met him once,” Sobhraj said, adding that he would not let any author or publisher to make quick money by tarnishing his image.

Sobhraj claimed that neither the author nor the publisher ever consulted him while writing the book. “I am confident to catch both of them on the wrong foot in the court of law,” he maintained.