The Penn's Grove record., 1884-01-26
The PoIson-r OF Ninety-six Victims.

To those who believe that the prac-
tice OF Thuggee has been completely
put down in India, the story of Sharfu,
whose career OF crime has just terml-
mated by his being sentenced to trans
portation for life, will come as an I'M
pleasant revelation. Sharfu was the son
of a butcher in a small village in the
PuniaD, and when yet a boy he devel-
oped a marked taste not only for
gambling, but even for card sharping.
At the age OF IS, having quarrelled
with his father. he left his native vii
lage and attached himself to a party OF
horse dealers. He then joined the
Bareilly police, but was shortly after
ward sentenced to fifteen months i'm
prisonment for injuring his wife, the
daughter of Thakur, whom he had alb
Quoted. In the Bareilly Jail he came
in contact with Tikka Ram, the head of
a band of prisoners in the northwest
provinces. On their recovering their
liberty they resumed operations to.
gether, making their headquarters in
the town of Agra. After six years OF
undetected crime, OF which the details
have not been revealed, the two fell ont,
and Sharfu Joined the police force again,
only, however, to be dismissed IN a few
months.
1t was after this occurrence that he
resumed operations as professional p11-
soner on his own account. His mode
of working was simple. Disgusting
himself az a well-to-do native of Dude,
he used to waylay and enter into con-
v~ersation with those natives of the
province who happened to be returning
with their savings, His favorlte scene
of operation was on the Grand Trunk
road. Once he had struck up a COM
partnership with these unsuspectlng
travellers it was an easy matter to take
food with them, and Sharfu rarely failed
to introduce the opium or dhatuTd
needed to drug his victims, whom he
speedily relieved of their savings. Mos
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 successful; and official
reports recognized the extent to which
Thuggee prevailed III the JuDjab during
that period. In July, 1881, his secret
was revealed by Tikka Rams wife. with
whom he had been living fol- fourteen
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 dangerous
work. He long bhthed the pursuit OF
the officials, and it was not until the
present year that he vas discovered,
through the instrumentality of Tikka
Ram, undergoing a short term OF i'm
prsonment III Agra Jail under an as
sumed name.
Brought up for trial at L%oodiana, he
admitte his guilt in ninety-six cases OF
murder or dragging, and was sentenced
to death, which vas afterward modified
to transportation tor life. Sharfu's long
impunity shows the great difficulty OF
detecting crime in India, at the same
time that it reyals the extensive organi-
zatlon which criminals have formed, III
the Pnniab at all events. Much light
has recently been thrown by DIR. Lett
ner on the drgot which thieves in the
Pun lab have framed for their own use,
and of which Government officials are
absolutely ignorant