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Kanishka bombing: 30 years on, case remains priority for investigators
TORONTO: Three decades after Khalistani terrorists blew-up Air India’s flight 182, killing 329 passengers, Canadian investigators have said they continue to treat
TORONTO: Three decades after Khalistani terrorists blew-up Air India’s flight 182, killing 329 passengers, Canadian investigators have said they continue to treat the case as a priority.
“The British Columbia Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) continues to investigate with the objective of pursuing charges of any individuals involved in the bombings. This investigation is a national priority for the RCMP,” spokesperson Staff Sergeant Rob Vermuelen said in an email.
A probe team is in touch with members of families of the victims of the attack, one of the worst aviation-related terrorism incidents in the world.
Susheel Gupta, whose mother Ramwati was killed when the airliner named Kanishka exploded, said, “The RCMP has kept us (families) updated on their investigation. Ultimately, we do hope that the rest of the perpetrators will be brought to justice.”
However, given the passage of time, some doubt the ongoing investigation can make up for the botched inquiry following the June 23, 1985 tragedy. The two principal accused in the case, Ajaib Singh Bagri and Ripudaman Singh Malik, were acquitted of the charges they faced by a court in British Columbia in March2005. The only person ever convicted in the case was Inderjit Singh Reyat, on charges of perjury.
Retired Canadian Supreme Court justice John Major, who headed an inquiry commission into the case, wrote in his June 2010 report, “This remains the largest mass murder in Canadian history, and was the result of a cascading series of errors.”
The report pointed out the tragedy could have been averted but for multiple mistakes.
For instance, while the Canadian Security Intelligence Service had a surveillance team present when plotters “detonated a device in the woods near Duncan, causing a loud explosive sound, the sound was misinterpreted and the surveillance report was ignored”.
