Sunny Gupta, a young officer, arrived at the office of the Superintendent of Thar Jail on May 8, 1981, with a transfer letter in hand. At just 24 years old at the time, Gupta had left his job at the railway to join the prison department. However, he was informed by the Jail Superintendent that there were no vacancies for an ASP. Perplexed, Gupta found himself contemplating his next steps. During this time, he encountered a striking figure dressed in a coat and tie. Expressing his concerns to this person, Gupta was reassured with the words, “Don’t worry, I will help you.” With that, he entered the Superintendent’s office.
An hour later, Gupta emerged with a letter in hand, appointing him as an ASP at Thar Jail. It was later revealed to him that the individual who had assisted him was none other than Charles Sobhraj, famously known as the ‘Super Aya Ji’ at Thar Jail.
Charles Sobhraj, born in 1944 in Saigon, Vietnam, was the son of an Indian Sindhi father and a Vietnamese mother. His childhood was marked by hardships, and in his youth, he was arrested in Paris on theft charges. In 1971, he was first arrested in India for robbing a jewelry shop at the Ashoka Hotel in Delhi. During this robbery, he had drugged a hotel employee with a sedative. Sobhraj was arrested again in 1976 for attempting to drug French tourists at the Vikram Hotel in Delhi. He was sent to Thar Jail, where he soon established his dominance. Sitting in the administrative offices of the prison, Sobhraj even had recordings of bribe requests by jail officials. He was provided with facilities like a studio apartment in the jail, where he would write applications for inmates and jail staff.
On March 16, 1986, Charles Sobhraj managed to escape from Thar Jail by drugging the jail staff with laced sweets. He was captured from a restaurant in Goa, where he was present with his friend David Hall. Sobhraj was sent back to Thar Jail, where all his privileges were revoked. Even after his release from Thar Jail in 1997, Sobhraj faced troubles. In 2003, he was arrested in Nepal and remained imprisoned for 19 years. On December 21, 2022, the Supreme Court of Nepal released him, and he left for France, where he currently resides. Charles Sobhraj’s story is that of a man who maintained his power and influence even within the confines of a jail. His various facets have made him a significant figure in Indian history.
