Sher Ali Afridi (a Kuki-Khel from a village near Jamrud) served in the army of British East India Company and fought for British in 1857's war of Independence. On return to Peshawar, he joined the Peshawar Mounted Police and, as an orderly to the British Commissioner. He also served British very well in the Ambela War in 1863 (in which British clashed with Yousafzais).
After few years, Sher Ali Afridi killed one of his cousins, with whom he was at feud, in broad day light at Peshawar and in 1867 he was sentenced to death by the British government since he had committed the murder in the 'settled area'. Later the death sentence was changed to life imprisonment in consideration for his past services to the British army and he was sent to Kala Pani. Sher Ali felt that he was wronged by the British, that it was no crime to kill an enemy and is said to have avowed to kill a high-ranking British officer as a revenge for his sentence.
In 1872 Sher Ali Afridi murdered Lord Mayo, the British Viceroy of India (one of the most powerful figures in British empire), who was visiting Kala Pani. He was sentenced to death again and was hanged in 1873. His body was burnt, and his ashes were thrown into the river.
British suspected that Sher Ali might have connections with "Wahabi" movement of India. Letters found among Sher Ali's belongings, written in Persian, were translated and combed for any sign of wider conspiracy. The letters of all the convicts in Kalapani were opened and examined in Calcutta. Full inquiries were made into Sher Ali's family's connections, but no evidence of links with Wahabis and wider conspiracy was proven.
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| "Shere Ali, assassin of Lord Mayo, in prison," an undated photo. Source |
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