Pakistani man arrested in 1995 Blackwood market murder

By
Web Desk
Mohammad Basharat (left) pictured in custody. — FIA
Mohammad Basharat (left) pictured in custody. — FIA

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested a man for his alleged involvement in the 1995 murder of a market trader in Wales' Caerphilly county, the BBC reported.

Mohammad Basharat alias "Bobby", 49 — who according to British National Crime Agency was found to be living under cover of a fake identity — is suspected of killing Jaswant Singh Sandhu in Blackwood 27 years ago. Sandhu had succumbed to bullet injuries at a hospital after being shot during a dispute over the price of T-shirts at a clothes stall.

The publication quoted FIA additional director Sheikh Zubair Ahmad as saying that they cooperated with the UK authorities to arrest Basharat, who had been declared a fugitive by UK police.

The FIA presented Basharat before a local court in the federal capital and acquired his custody.

According to the FIA, Basharat belonged to Kashmir's Mirpur district but lived in Oldham, Lancashire, and worked at a market in south Wales thrice a week. However, after coming back to Pakistan, he got a new identity card with the name of Zamir Ali, and started running his own businesses, including a recruitment agency in Rawalpindi.

The agency said they were in contact with Interpol and the process of extradition to UK was underway.