Nepal
Just when Charles Sobhraj-watchers wondered about the whereabouts of his young wife, Nihita Bishwas has popped up again.
Standing outside the gate of the Department of Immigration, she spoke to the media and launched a broadside against the Nepali authorities for delaying the release of Sobhraj.
“First and foremost, I want to see his safe return to France as per the Supreme Court order,” she told journalists, minutes after officials drove Sobhraj to the department from the Central Jail. The Frenchman spent 19 years and two months behind in prison after a court convicted him of murdering two American tourists. Twenty-four hours after the apex court’s order, Sobhraj boarded a Qatar Airways flight home to Paris via Doha on Friday evening.
Here’s all you need to know about Nihita Bishwas:
Sobhraj and Bishwas claimed they married on October 9, 2008 while marking the Dashain festival. Prison authorities denied having consented to any wedding ceremony.
Bishwas was born in 1988 in Kathmandu. Her father was a Bengali businessman from Kolkata and her mother, Shakuntala Thapa, is a Nepali lawyer.
Her parents divorced when she was a child. She went to St. Mary's High School and graduated from law school.
In prison, Sobhraj had requested an interpreter. French was Bishwas' strong suit. She met Sobhraj for the first time because of her command of the language.
For Sobhraj, it was a case of love at first sight. It took Bishwas a few meetings before she became inclined. After only three months of dating, they got engaged. On October 9, 2008, they got married in prison. Bishwas was 21 years old and Sobhraj was 64 at that time.
The mother and daughter stepped up efforts for Sobhraj’s release.
Authorities detained Bishwas and Thapa after they accused Supreme Court justices of taking bribes to uphold Sobhraj's life sentence. The authority freed them a day later.
Bishwas participated in Indian reality TV show Big Boss season 5 in 2011. She is the first Nepali citizen to take part in the show.
Big Boss-5 caused controversy when one of the contestants inquired about Bishwas' personal life.
One of the competitors had asked, "Did you have sex with Sobhraj?"
Bishwas tried to dodge the question, but her fellow contestant persisted and asked, "Why did you marry him?"
The question provoked Bishwas' relatives in Nepal.
"I was shocked," her mother Thapa had remarked then. “We are a conservative society in Nepal. Such sensationalism or ignorance was not what we anticipated.
"Sobhraj is behind bars, but Nihita is not. How could the subject of having sex with a prisoner even come up?” she had questioned.
Eleven years after that incident, the Supreme Court on Wednesday (December 21, 2022) ordered Sobhraj’s release because of his advanced age and failing health.
After Sobhraj’s release from prison on Friday, the police team escorted him to the Department of Immigration to arrange his deportation. Bishwas followed a cavalcade of security vehicles to the department.
The security guards stopped her at the entrance. A large group of journalists and photojournalists surrounded her. She expressed concern to the media about Sobhraj safely returning to France.
Bishwas said she was not going to France with Sobhraj. “I have to work for many clients and Charles. There are responsibilities. It is necessary to coordinate with the family and the embassy.”
Once charged with contempt of court, her mother Thapa seemed to have a change of heart too, saying: "I am happy and have great respect for our judiciary."
