KATHMANDU, Dec 23: The Department of Immigration (DoI) is making necessary preparations to deport Charles Sobhraj, who has been released from jail following an order from the Supreme Court. The DoI will be issuing flight tickets to deport Sobhraj as soon as possible.

Director General of the Department of Immigration Rishi Ram Tiwari informed Republica that he is getting the flight ticket to send Sobhraj to France today itself.

"Sobraj will go home today without any delay," said Tiwari, adding, ”If it is not possible to deport him today, we will keep him on the premises of the department or in a place designated by the department.”

Sobhraj was released from jail today following the apex court order on Wednesday. The court ordered him to return to his country (France) within 15 days. Following the order of the Supreme Court, the Central Jail handed over Sobhraj to the Department of Immigration today. Sobhraj was released after spending 19 years and two months in prison.

A joint bench of justices Sapna Pradhan Malla and Til Prasad Shrestha on Wednesday ordered that Sobhraj be sent to his own country, exempting him from imprisonment, saying that he is suffering from heart disease and for his good conduct. With this order of the Supreme Court, Sobhraj was spared eight months of imprisonment.

Sobraj, a notorious criminal better known as 'the Serpent Killer', was arrested in Nepal in 2003, for the murder of American citizen Connie Joe Bronzich and Canadian citizen Laurent Armand Carriere in 1975.

District Court Bhaktapur slapped a life imprisonment on Sobhraj issuing a verdict that says he should stay in jail until September 18, 2023. Sobhraj has had to serve 20 years of imprisonment as per the life sentence. However, he submitted a writ petition stating that he had already served 19 years of the 20-year sentence, claiming that he had already been recommended for release on the basis of good conduct.

 
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