KATHMANDU: The Central Jail has launched a probe into an internationally notorious criminal Charles Shobraj who apparently spoke with foreign media from his prison cell.
Two British newspapers carried a story on Shobraj on March 28 based on interviews they conducted with the infamous prisoner.
As per law, prisoners are not allowed to give interviews to the media. But the stories published in British papers have raised the question about the lax implementation of law by prison authorities.
In the report published in the Sunday Mirror, Shobraj talks about his entry to Hollywood and wants Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson and the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to bankroll a movie. He also says that he will be released in full very soon.
Spokesperson for Home Ministry Chakra Bahadur Budha said, “The ministry and its subordinates have not granted permission to any foreign media to take the interview.”
The Department of Prison Management (DoPM) said there were some requests made to interview Shobraj but it had turned them down. Following the publication of stories in British papers, the DoPM has instructed to carry out a detailed investigation.
According to Jailer at Central Jail Laxmi Baskota, the prison authority has been given 10 days to find out how Shobraj gave interviews to foreign media. He added Shobraj has the right to talk to his family or relative through telephone once a week, he gets maximum two calls in a week, perhaps he might have misused the provision.
The prison authorities suspect that the call Shobraj made to his family or relative was recorded at the receiver’s end and the audio clip was provided to foreign media.
However, the inmate’s call records do not show any new number. This indicates that his call was recorded during one of those regular numbers he dialed. The infamous bikini-killer often makes calls to London, USA and France.
Language barrier might have also led to the interview, authorities suspect. When asked, Shobraj has denied giving interview to foreign media.
The prison authorities have claimed that nobody has visited Shobraj in the past one year. His lawyer had visited him before March in 2020. After that she too has not paid him a visit.
Comment