July 30: Dealing a body blow to ‘bikini killer’ Charles Sobhraj’s freedom bid, Nepal’s Supreme Court on Friday convicted the Indian-origin criminal in a sensational murder case of an American tourist and upheld the life term awarded to him by lower courts. Sobhraj, 66, a French national whose father was an Indian and mother a Vietnamese, was also found guilty by the apex court of possessing a fake passport.

Rejecting the appeal of the international criminal in the 1975 murder case of US citizen Connie Jo Bronzich, a two-judge bench of the apex court comprising Mr Ram Kumar Prasad Shaha and Mr Gauri Dhakal upheld the verdicts of the Kathmandu district court and Patan appellate court in the matter.

“Although there is no direct evidence, based on circumstantial evidence, we don’t see any fault in the decision of the Kathmandu district court and the Patan appellate court. Therefore, we uphold their verdicts,” Justice Shaha said.

Sobhraj was sentenced by the lower courts to a 20-year life term for the murder of Bronzich and one year jail and Rs 2,000 fine in the fake passport case. Nepal’s apex court took into account Sobhraj’s statement before an Indian court that he had travelled to Nepal along with his girlfriend Mary who had also spoken of his involvement in the murder.