The infamous Charles Sobhraj, also known as Bikini Killer, will undergo an open heart surgery at the Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre, Bansbari after doctors diagnosed leakage in a valve.

Sobhraj, 73, a French national, had recently fainted in the Central Jail, Sundhara, where he has been kept in confinement for the last 12 years. After initial check-up, Sobhraj was referred to Gangalal where doctors suggested surgery for the mitral valve leakage.

“We will decide during the surgery if the valve can be repaired or needs complete replacement,” said a senior doctor of the hospital.

The mitral valve is a dual-flap that controls the flow of blood in the left section of the heart. In failing to function adequately, patients exhibit symptoms including palpitation, excursion and shortness of breath.

The hospital plans to admit Sobhraj on June 16. He might undergo operation two days later.

Dr Kedar Narsingh KC, the physician at the Central Jail, said Sobhraj is currently in the jail hospital and has been ill for some time. 

However, as doctors plan to operate on Sobhraj, the Gangalal Hospital administration is planning to write to the Ministry of Home Affairs seeking additional security.

In a story carried by The Indian Express on Thursday, Sobhraj is quoted as saying, “I don’t know if I will survive this. I have been threatened with death in the courtroom. Besides, the risk factor of an open heart surgery in Nepal is higher than France. In Nepal, it is between 3-5 per cent while in France it is only 1 per cent. But the cardiologists here have decided I should have the replacement as quickly as possible since there is significant damage in one valve and mild damage to the other. Of course, I am nervous about all this.”

Sobhraj has been doing his time in Kathmandu after the Supreme Court sentenced him to life in prison for murdering an American tourist, Connie Joe Bronzich, in 1975 in Nepal. He had been linked to multiple killings of backpackers.