"He tried to reach out to his revolver, but we seized it immediately," he said. To which I replied, 'Charles I know you well, I had arrested you in 1971 and you can not forget me'," the former Mumbai cop said. "Sobhraj tried to dodge us and said 'he didn't know who Charles was'. Without wasting time I pounced on him," Zende said, recalling those dramatic moments. Two officers were asked to stay outside the hotel, two stayed in the compound and two were with me. "On April 6 (1986), our team was at the hotel, where I saw Sobhraj walking inside. While showing call register, an officer there gave information that there is a hotel named 'O Coqueiro' in Goa (in Porvorim), where foreigners get immediate international calls," he said.ĭuring enquiry near a motorcycle taxi stand, a man provided information that a foreigner had been hiring a motorcycle and roaming in the state, the retired police officer said. "I went to the CTO (Central Telegraph Office) to check records of phone calls. Zende was aware Sobhraj has an American wife and he may contact her over the phone. Initially, there were only two officers in the team and more joined later, he said, adding the squad went to various locations in the tourist state in search of the Sobhraj. The DGP immediately called Zende and a plan was chalked out to arrest the notorious criminal.Īccordingly, multiple police teams were formed and one of them under Zende was sent to Goa. On March 29, 1986, the Railway Police arrested a man who had some connection with Sobhraj and this was conveyed to the then-DGP, he said. Then Maharashtra DGP Suryakant Jog read the news report. I had arrested him in 1971 in a robbery case so the newspaper published a story saying an inspector in the Mumbai Police knew Charles Sobhraj," he said. "Next day, a newspaper in Mumbai published photos of Sobhraj. Though there were six jailers, three vehicles went inside the Tihar prison and 16 inmates, including the notorious French serial killer, escaped, he said, adding then nobody knew how he looked like. Sobhraj scripted his great escape from the Tihar jail in the middle of March in 1986 by offering drug-laced sweets to prison staff on the pretext of celebrating his birthday. Recalling the arrest of Sobhraj, Zende said when he escaped in a dramatic fashion from the top-security Tihar jail in New Delhi, it became an international news in 1986. What the justice system thinks is more appropriate, he said, adding "judges are more learned than common people, it is their decision and it's wrong to comment on that". "I think he should not come out of jail for life, he may commit more crimes, he is dangerous for society, but what matters is what the criminal justice system thinks," Zende said. When nabbed from the Goa hotel, Sobhraj tried to dodge police by hiding his identity, but did not succeed, the retired police officer recalled. The septuagenarian had admitted killing 40 to 42 women and is a hardened criminal, who can do anything if he comes out, Zende said.
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