The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1884-02-13
A PROFESSIONAL POISONER.
A Noted Thug Of Indin and His Dlaboiical
Work.

To those who believe that the practice
Of thuggee has been completely put
down in India, the story Of Sharfu or
Sharifuddin, 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 butcher in small village in
the Punjab, and when yet boy he de-
yclOped a marked taste not only for
gambling, but even for card.sharping.
At the age Of eighteen, having quar-
relied with his father he left his native
village and attached himself to II party
Of horse dealers He then joined the
BarciIly 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
ducted. In the Bareilly jail he came it,
contact with Tikka Ram, the head Of a
! band of PRISONERS in the northwest
province. On their recovering their lib
erty they resumed Operations together,
making their headquarters III the town
Of Agra. After six years work Of unde-
tected crime, Of which the details have
not been revealed, the two fell out and
Sharfu joined the police force again,
only, however, to he dismissed in few
months. II was after this occurrence
that he resumed his operations rs pro-
fcssiOnal pOsoncr on his own account.
His mode OF working was simple. Dis
gllsing himself as u well.tO.dO native Of
Dude he used to waylay and enter into
conversation with those natives of the
province who happened to bo returning
with their savings His favorite scene
Of operations was on the Grand Trunk
road. Once he had struck up the com
panionship with these unsuspecting
travellers it was an easy matter to take
food with them, and Shnrlu rarely failed
to Introduce the opium or dhat,ra
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 numer-
GUS and successful, and official reports
recognized the extent to which thuggee
prevailed in Puniab during that period.
IN July. 1881, his secret was revealed by
Tikka Rams wife, with whom he had
been living for fourteen years; and he
had only Just sufficient warning to make
II hurried retreat in Raipootana. There
he renewed his old practices, and placed
his services at the disposal Of those who
had incOnyenient relatives to be got rid
Of, and who would pay handsomely for
the dangerous work. He long bailled
the pursuit Of the officials, and it was
not until the present year that he was
discovered through tho fundamentally
of Tikka Ram, undergoing a short term
Of imprisonmentin Agra Jail under diff
fcrcnt name. Brought up for trial at
Loodiana, he admitted his guilt of
ninety-six cases of murder or drugging,
and was sentenced to death, which was
aftcrward modified to transportation for
life. Sharfu's long impunity shows the
great difficulty Of detecting crime in
India Mt the same time that it reveals
the extensive organization which crimi-
nails have formed, in tie Punab at all
events. Much light has recently boon
thrown by DIR. Lcitner on the argot
which thieves in the Pmiab have
framed for their own use, and of which
Government officials are absolutely ig.
norant.-LOndOn Times.