Arrest in Pakistan over 1995 Blackwood market murder

  • Published
Jaswant Singh SandhuImage source, family photo
Image caption,

Jaswant Singh Sandhu was shot and later died in hospital

A man has been arrested in Pakistan in connection with a murder in Caerphilly county 27 years ago.

Mohammad "Bobby" Basharat is suspected of killing market trader Jaswant Singh Sandhu in Blackwood in 1995.

The National Crime Agency said the 49-year-old was found by Pakistan authorities under a false identity.

Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said the man was brought before a local court in Islamabad and he has been remanded in custody.

Image caption,

A floral tribute left in the market place, after the shooting in 1995

Mr Sandhu, a father-of-two, who had family in Wolverhampton, died in hospital after being shot with a pistol following a row on a clothes stall at a market, apparently about the price of T-shirts.

The case in May 1995 featured on the BBC Crimewatch programme.

Mr Basharat had lived in Oldham, Lancashire but worked at the market in south Wales three times a week.

Sheikh Zubair Ahmad from the FIA told the BBC that he was declared a fugitive by UK police and his arrest came about after cooperation from the UK authorities.

He had been running businesses including a recruitment agency in the city of Rawalpindi.

Image source, FIA
Image caption,

Mohammad Basharat (left) pictured in custody

According to the FIA official, he was from the Mirpur district of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and after coming to Pakistan he got a new ID card with the name of Zamir Ali, son of Muhammad Aslam.

The FIA official said that Interpol officials had also been in contact with them and the extradition process was under way.

A Gwent Police statement said: "A 49-year-old man was arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of murder in connection with an investigation into the death of a man in Blackwood in 1995.

"Inquiries are ongoing and work continues, alongside the National Crime Agency and authorities in Pakistan, to secure his extradition to the UK where he may face further court proceedings."