AN INDIAN PROFESSIONAL POISONER.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1149, 8 March 1884, Page 3

AN INDIAN PROFESSIONAL POISONER.

To those who believe that the practice of thuggee has been completely put down in India, the story of Sliarfu, or fSharif-un-din, whose career of crime has just terminated by his being sentenced to transportation for life, will come as an unpleasant revelation. Sharfu was the son of a batcher in a small village in the Punjaub, and when yet a boy he developed a marked taste not only for gambling, but even for card-sharping. At the age of 18, having quarrelled with his father, he left his native village, and attached himself to a party of horsedealers. He then joined the Bareilly police, but was shortly afterwards sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for injining his wife, the daughter of Thakur whomi he had abducted. In the Bareilljy gaol he came in contact with Tikka Ram, the head of a band of poisoners in the North-West provinces. On their recovering their liberty they resumed operations together, making their headquarters in the town of Agra, After six years’ work of undetected crime, of which the details have not been revealed, the two fell out, and Sharfu joined the police force again, only, however, to be dismissed in a few months. It was after this occurrence that he resumed his operations as a professional poisoner on his own account. His mode of working was simple. Disguising himself as a well-to-do native of Onde, he used to waylay and enter into conversation wilh those natives of the province who happened to be returning with their savings. His favorite scene of operation was on the Grand Trucfc road. Once he had struck up a companionship witli these unsuspecting travellers it was an easy matter to take food with them, and Sharfu rarely failed to introduce the opium or ‘ dhatura ’ needed to drug his victims, whom he speedily relieved of their savings. Most of these unwary persons recovered when pursuit was useless, but many of them died. His operations between the years 1867 and 1872 were particularly numerous and succeaful ; and official reports recognised the extent to which thuggee prevailed in the Punjaub during that period. In July, 1881, his secret was revealed by Tikka Ram’s wife, with whom he had been living for 14 years; and he had only just sufficient warning to make a hurried retreat into Rajpootana. There he renewed his old practices, and placed his services at the disposal of those who had inconvenient relatives to get rid of, and who would pay handsomely for the drngeroua work. He long baffled the pursuit of the officials and it was not until last year that he was discovered through the instrumentality of Tikka Ram, undergoing a short term of imprisonment in Agra gaol under a different name. Brought up for trial at Loodiana, he admitted his guilt in 96 cases of murder or drugging and was sentenced to death, which was afterwards modified to transportation for life. Sharfu’s long immunity shows the great difficulty of detecting crime in India, at the same time that it reveals the extensive organisation which criminals have formed, in the Punjaub at all events. Much light has recently been thrown by Dr Leitner on the argot which thieves in the Punjaub have framed tor their own use, and of which Government officials are absolutely ignorant.