Sher Ali Afridi, also called Shere Ali, is known for killing Lord Mayo, the Viceroy of India, on 8 February 1872. He was a prisoner on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands at the time, sentenced for murder.
Sher Ali worked for the British administration in the Punjab Mounted Police in the 1860s. In a family feud, he killed one of his relatives at Peshawar in broad daylight and although he pleaded innocence, he was sentenced to death on 2 April 1867. On appeal, his conviction was reduced to life imprisonment and he was deported to Kala Pani or the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, to serve his sentence. He was permitted to work as a barber at Port Blair as he was acknowledged to have behaved well since his arrival.
Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, Viceroy of India from 1869, was visiting the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in February 1872. On 8 February, when the Viceroy had almost completed his inspection and was returning at 7:00 PM to his boat, where Lady Mayo was also waiting, Sher Ali Afridi appeared from the dark and stabbed him. Sher Ali was immediately arrested by twelve security personnel. Lord Mayo soon bled to death.
The murder of the Viceroy, the supreme official of India appointed by the British Crown, sent shock waves throughout Britain and British India. This high profile murder was not given much publicity in press to hide the weakness of the super power at that time. Sher Ali Afridi was condemned to death and was hanged on the gallows of Viper Island prison, on 11 March 1872.
Below is collage of photographs shows Lord Mayo visiting Afghanistan, photograph of Sher Ali and Lord Mayo and a sketch of the murder of Lord Mayo.