Inspector Zende: 3 clues that led to Charles Sobhraj's arrest
upcoming crime drama
is already making headlines ahead of its release on September 5, 2025. Starring Manoj Bajpayee as Inspector Madhukar Zende and Jim Sarbh as the infamous serial killer Charles Sobhraj, the series promises a gripping retelling of one of India’s most dramatic police chases.
Directed by Chinmay Mandlekar and produced by Om Raut, Jay Shewakramani, and Vishal Sinha, the show has been described as a high-stakes cat-and-mouse thriller rooted in real history.
follows the story of Mumbai cop Madhukar Zende, and his relentless pursuit of Sobhraj, also known as the “Bikini Killer.” The drama traces how Zende first caught him in 1971, only for the criminal to escape. But years later, Zende tracked him again, this time in Goa, finally arresting him at a restaurant. Netflix describes it as a story of “a warrior without a crown” who never gave up in his fight for justice.
The series is based on real-life inspector Madhukar Zende, who became known for capturing Charles Sobhraj, believed to have killed at least 50 tourists across Asia in the 1970s. Zende first arrested Charles in 1971.
In March 1986, Charles escaped Delhi’s Tihar Jail by drugging guards during a “party.” He then fled to Goa, but his regular use of O’Coqueiro restaurant’s phone service gave police the final clue that led to his arrest.
In an earlier interview with
, retired Zende revealed what led to Charles’s second arrest, which he called the “most prestigious” of his career. He said, “The railway police in Maharashtra had arrested one person with a revolver and bomb. While interrogating him, it was revealed that he was connected with Sobhraj.”
He added that then DGP Suryakant Jog deputed him for the operation because he had arrested Sobhraj once before in 1971. Zende and his team began tracking Sobhraj’s movements in Goa. “One Mapankar, a local person, had a keen observation about a motorcycle of peacock green color. He gave me another 100 percent clue that Sobhraj was moving in that area,” he said.
Another key lead came from Menezes, a staff member at Panaji’s Central Telegraph Office, who told Zende that foreigners preferred calling from O’Coqueiro restaurant.
On April 6, 1986, Zende spotted Sobhraj entering O’Coqueiro wearing a sunhat at night. “I realized that one of them was Sobhraj… I pounced on him,” Zende said. He finally confronted him, simply saying, “Hello, Charles. How are you?”
According to Raut, Zende is 88 years old in 2025. The producer further revealed in his conversation with
that his father, a journalist, had always been fascinated by him. While his father was working, Zende was serving in the Mumbai Police, and they had a few past interactions. Through his newspaper, his father covered several stories on Zende and admired the remarkable achievements he accomplished for both the Maharashtra Police and the Indian Police Force.
Meanwhile, Sobhraj was released twenty years after his first arrest, and went back to France, where he tried to live quietly. But in 2003, he surprisingly returned to Nepal, a country where he was still wanted for murder. Soon after, he was arrested in Kathmandu and found guilty of the 1975 murders of Laurent Carrière and Connie Jo Bronzich, receiving a life sentence.
He spent nearly twenty years in a Nepalese prison before being freed in 2022 due to old age and poor health. On December 23 that year, he returned to France once again as a free man. According to BBC report, he is 81 years old in 2025.
Sobhraj’s story has long fascinated filmmakers. He was played by Randeep Hooda in
and Siddhant Gupta in
also on Netflix. There’s a documentary too,
, now, Bajpayee and Sarbh bring a fresh retelling of the cat-and-mouse chase with
.
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