Canada set to release Air India bombing inquiry report

TORONTO - Exactly 25 years after the Air India Kanishka bombing in which 329 passengers were killed, Canada will finally come out with a comprehensive report in June to pin-point the failures which led to one of the worst ever air tragedies.

The Air India Kanishka flight 182 from Montreal to Delhi was blown up mid-air near the Irish coast June 23, 1985, by a bomb planted by Khalistani elements to avenge the army action at the Golden Temple to flush out militants.

All 329 passengers, mostly Indian Canadians, were killed, making it the worst aviation attack in history till 9/11 happened.

Another bomb, meant for another Air India flight, also went off at Tokyo airport the same day, killing two baggage handlers.

As the verdict in the criminal trial in 2005 pointed out, Sikh militants had planted both the bombs at Vancouver airport in two unaccompanied suitcases which were transferred to the connecting Air India flight and Tokyo-bound flight at Toronto airport.

Inderjit Singh Reyat, who was the only person jailed for his role in the bombing, was released last year. Two Vancouver-based suspects - Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri - were acquitted in 2005.

As the non-guilty verdict in the criminal trial led to outrage among the families of the victims, the government set up a commission under former Supreme Court Chief Justice John Major in 2006 to conduct a public inquiry into the case.

Commission sources said Thursday that the report is set for release in June - the 25th anniversary of the bombing.

During its investigations, the commission called in more than 200 witnesses and went through more than 17,000 classified papers. The inquiry was finished in 2008 but because of various delays, including parliamentary elections, it couldn’t be presented on time.

The five-volume report is likely to run into more than 3,100 pages.

“But we don’t know when the report will be out… only the inquiry commission knows. We are just waiting for it,” Toronto-based Bal Gupta, who lost his wife in the bombing and was the brain behind the Air India Victims’ Association, told IANS.

Asked whether the report will put closure on the tragedy, he said: “No, there will never be closure on this tragedy for us. No report can do that.”

The report comes out at a time when India has expressed its concern to Canada that Khalistani activities are once again increasing on its soil.