Kathmandu, Sept 29: International criminal Charles Sobhraj arrested here from a hotel casino, wants to forget his past and is studying the country's history while in custody at a local prison. Sobhraj is currently staying in the district police office near the old Hanumandhoka Palace, where he will witness sacrifice of hundreds of buffaloes on October 3, during Hindu festival Vijaya Dashami.

He is currently busy studying Nepalese history and Nepalese Constitution, said deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) at the Crime Investigation Department Ganesh K C He also reads several newspapers, he added. The 59-year-old eats Nepali dal, rice and curry while in custody and mostly speaks in English, he said.

The DSP, who is currently investigating into the cases of the notorious criminal also nicknamed 'The Serpent' and 'bikini killer', happens to have seen the body of one of two foreign tourists allegedly killed by Sobhraj in Kathmandu some 28 years ago. "I saw the dead body of Conie Jo Bronizch, an American lady in 1975 at Kathmandu's Koteshwor, on way to Bhaktapur district. Then I was just 12 years old and after hearing that a foreigner was killed I went there curious to know how does an American look like," K C said.

Interestingly enough, K C is now in-charge of the police team looking into the same murder case.

Bureau Report