AIR INDIA FLIGHT 182

'Air-India Flight 182' was a Boeing 747 that exploded on June 23, 1985 while at an altitude of 31,000 feet (9500 m) above the Atlantic Ocean, south of Ireland; all 329 on board were killed, of whom 136 were children and 280 were Canadian citizens.^[1]
Up until September 11, 2001, the Air India bombing was the single deadliest terrorist attack involving aircraft. It is also the largest mass murder in Canadian history. It occurred within an hour of the Narita Airport Bombing.
The trial of those accused of the bombing, Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, is known as the "Air India Trial". The investigation and prosecution took almost 20 years, was the costliest in Canadian history at nearly CAD $130 million. The co-accused were found not guilty and released.
The only person convicted of involvement in the bombing is Inderjit Singh Reyat, who pled guilty in 2003 to manslaughter in constructing the bomb used on Flight 182 and received a five-year sentence.

Contents

Incident timeline

The Air India 182 bomb

Recovery of bodies

The suspects

The Air India Trial

Reyat's Narita conviction

Malik and Bagri charged

Reyat turns witness

Verdict

Reaction

Reyat's perjury trial

A Canadian tragedy?

Bob Rae

John C. Major

Key timelines

What did the Canadian government know?

Destroyed evidence

CSIS connection

Books, memorials and recognition

See also

External links

References

Incident timeline

The Air India Boeing 747-237B “Emperor Kanishka” (registered VT-EFO) flew on a Montréal-Mirabel International Airport, – London Heathrow Airport – Palam International Airport, Delhi – Sahar International Airport, Bombay route.
On June 20, 1985, at 0100 GMT, a man calling himself Mr Singh made reservations for two flights on June 22: one for "Jaswand Singh" to fly from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Montreal on Canadian Pacific Air Lines (CP) 086, and one for "Mohinderbel Singh" to fly from Vancouver to Tokyo on CP 003, there to connect with Air India flight 301 to Bangkok.
At 0220 GMT on the same day, another call was made, changing the reservation in the name of "Jaswand Singh" from CP 086 to CP 060 (flying from Vancouver to Toronto, Ontario). The caller also asked to be wait-listed on Air India 181 from Toronto to Montreal and AI 182 from Montreal to Delhi.
At 1910 GMT, a man paid for the two tickets with $3,005 in cash at a CP ticket office in Vancouver. The names on the reservations were changed: "Jaswand Singh" became "M Singh" and "Mohinderbel Singh" became "L Singh".
On June 22, 1985, at 1330 GMT, a man calling himself Manjit Singh called to confirm his reservations on Air India flight 181/182. He was told he was still wait-listed, and was offered alternate arrangements, which he declined.

The Air India 182 bomb

At 15:50 GMT on June 22, Singh checked in at Vancouver Airport for CP Air Flight 60 to Toronto and was assigned seat 10B. He asked that his suitcase, a dark brown, hard-sided Samsonite suitcase, be transferred to Flight 181 and then 182. CP Agent Jeanne Bakermans initially refused his request to inter-line the baggage, since his seat from Toronto to Montreal and Montreal to Delhi was unconfirmed, but later relented [1].
At 16:18 GMT, the CP Air flight to Lester B Pearson International Airport in Toronto departed without Mr Singh.
At 20:22 GMT, CP Air Flight 60 arrived in Toronto twelve minutes late. Some of the passengers and baggage, including the bag Mr Singh had checked in, were transferred to Air India flight 181. Other passengers and baggage from Air Canada Flight 136, which also came from Vancouver, were handled as well.
At 00:15 GMT (now June 23), Flight 181 departed Toronto for Montreal-Mirabel 1 hour and 40 minutes late. The aircraft was late because a "fifth pod", a spare engine, was installed below the left wing to be flown to India for repairs. The plane arrived at Mirabel at 01:00 GMT. In Montreal, the Air India flight became Flight 182.
At 07:15 GMT, Air India Flight 182, which had departed Mirabel bound for London, disappeared. Air traffic controllers at the Shanwick Oceanic Control Center near Shannon International Airport, in Shannon, Ireland heard a crackling sound on the radio before the plane vanished. The plane was due to arrive at 08:15 GMT.

A bomb in the forward cargo hold had exploded while the plane was in mid-flight at 31,000 feet at ^[2]. The bomb caused rapid decompression and consequent in-flight breakup. The wreckage settled in 6,700 feet (2,000 m) deep water off the south-west Irish coast 120 miles (190 km) offshore of County Cork.
But for the one hour and forty minute delay in leaving Toronto, Air India 182 would have been at London's Heathrow airport at the time of the explosion, with an outcome similar to that of the Narita bomb which had exploded fifty five minutes earlier.

Recovery of bodies

The bomb on flight 182 killed all 22 crew and 307 passengers, including 82 minors and numerous Sikhs. Post-accident medical reports graphically illustrated the horror inflicted by this act on the passengers and crew. Of the 329 persons on board, only 131 bodies were recovered: 198 bodies were lost forever to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. The bodies recovered included 30 children. Eight bodies exhibited "flail pattern" injuries, indicating that they exited the aircraft before it had hit the water. This, in turn, was a sign that the airplane had broken up in mid-air. Twenty-six bodies, including twelve children, showed signs of hypoxia (lack of oxygen). Twenty-five bodies, mostly victims who were seated near windows, showed signs of explosive decompression. This included seven children. Twenty-three bodies had signs of "injuries from a vertical force". Twenty-one passengers were found with little or no clothing.
One official quoted in the report stated, "All victims have been stated in the PM reports to have died of multiple injuries. However two of the dead, one infant and one child, are reported to have died of asphyxia. There is no doubt about the asphyxial death of the infant. In the case of the other child (Body No 93) there was some doubt because the findings could also be caused due to the child undergoing tumbling or spinning with the anchor point at the ankles. Three other victims undoubtedly died of drowning." ^[3]

The suspects

The main suspects in the bombing were the members of a Sikh separatist group called the Babbar Khalsa. This group was devoted to creating a Sikh state called Khalistan in the Punjab.
On November 6, 1985 the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) raided the homes of the suspected Sikh separatists, Talwinder Singh Parmar, Inderjit Singh Reyat. Surjan Singh Gill, Hardial Singh Johal, and Manmohan Singh.
'Talwinder Singh Parmar' was a naturalized Canadian citizen living in British Columbia and was wanted for extradition to India for his role in activities in the Punjab including the murder of two police officers. At this time, the Indian police and Khalistan supporters had come into conflict, with a number of innocent bystanders injured or killed. On March 5, 1985, three months before the bombing, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had obtained permission to tape Parmar’s phone on the basis that he was the leader of the Babbar Khalsa.^[4]
'Ripudaman Singh Malik' is a Vancouver businessman who helped fund a credit union and several Khalsa Schools.
'Ajaib Singh Bagri' was a millworker living in Kamloops.
'Inderjit Singh Reyat' was living in Duncan on Vancouver Island and working as an auto mechanic and electrician.
'Surjan Singh Gill' was living in Vancouver as the self-proclaimed consul-general of Khalistan. He later fled Canada and is believed to be in hiding in London, England.
'Hardial Singh Johal' and 'Manmohan Singh' were both followers of Parmar and active in the Sikh temples where he preached. On November 15, 2002 Johal, died of natural causes at 55. He had allegedly stored the suitcases with bombs in the basement of a Vancouver school but was never charged in the case.
'Daljit Sandhu' is later named by a Crown witness as the man who picked up the tickets for the bombing. During the trial the Crown played a video from January, 1989, in which Sandhu congratulated the families of Indira Gandhi’s assassins and stated that “she deserved that and she invited that and that’s why she got it”. Sandhu was cleared by Judge Josephson in his March 16 judgement.

The Air India Trial

Reyat's Narita conviction

On May 10, 1991, after lengthy proceedings to extradite Reyat from England, he was convicted of two counts of manslaughter and four explosives charges relating to the Narita Airport bombing. He is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

Malik and Bagri charged

Fifteen years after the bombing, on October 27, 2000, RCMP arrest Malik and Bagri. They are charged with 329 counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of the people on board Air India Flight 182, conspiracy to commit murder, the attempted murder of passengers and crew on the Canadian Pacific flight at Japan's New Tokyo International Airport (now Narita International Airport), and two counts of murder of the baggage handlers at New Tokyo International Airport.

Reyat turns witness

On June 6, 2001, RCMP arrest Reyat to face charges of murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy in the Air India bombing. On February 10, 2003, Reyat pleads guilty to one count of manslaughter and a charge of aiding in the construction of a bomb. He was sentenced to five years in jail. He was expected to provide testimony in the trial of Malik and Bagri, but prosecutors were vague.
The trial proceeds between April 2003 to December 2004 in Courtroom 20, more commonly-known as "the Air India courtroom." At a cost of $7.2 million, the high-security courtroom was specially-built for the trial in the Vancouver Law Courts.

Verdict

On March 16, 2005, Justice Ian Josephson delivered the verdict for Malik and Bagri: Not guilty on all counts.

I began by describing the horrific nature of these cruel acts of terrorism, acts which cry out for justice. Justice is not achieved, however, if persons are convicted on anything less than the requisite standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Despite what appear to have been the best and most earnest of efforts by the police and the Crown, the evidence has fallen markedly short of that standard.^[5]

Reaction

In a letter to the Attorney General of British Columbia, Malik has demanded compensation from the Canadian government for wrongful prosecution in his arrest and trial. Malik owes the government $6.4 million and Bagri owes $9.7 million in legal fees.

Reyat's perjury trial

In February Inderjit Singh Reyat was charged with perjury with regard to his testimony in the trial. The indictment was filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia and lists 27 instances where he allegedly misled the court during his testimony. Reyat had pleaded guilty to constructing the bomb but denied under oath that he knew anything about the conspiracy.
In the verdict Justice Ian Josephson said: "I find him to be an unmitigated liar under oath. Even the most sympathetic of listeners could only conclude, as do I, that his evidence was patently and pathetically fabricated in an attempt to minimize his involvement in his crime to an extreme degree, while refusing to reveal relevant information he clearly possesses."
On July 3, 2007, with perjury proceedings still pending, Reyat was denied parole by the National Parole Board who concluded he's a continued risk to the public. The decision means Reyat will have to serve his full five-year sentence, which ends February 9, 2008.^[6]

A Canadian tragedy?

Twenty years after the downing of Air India Flight 182, families gathered in Ahakista, Ireland to grieve. Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, on the advice of Prime Minister Paul Martin declared the anniversary a national day of mourning. During the anniversary observances, Martin said that the bombing was a Canadian problem, not a foreign problem, saying: "Make no mistake: The flight may have been Air India's, it may have taken place off the coast of Ireland, but this is a Canadian tragedy."^[7]
In May 2007, pollster Angus Reid released the results of public opinion polling of whether Canadians viewed the bombing as a Canadian or Indian tragedy and who they blamed for it. Forty-eight per cent of respondents regarded the Air India bombing as a Canadian tragedy, while 22 per cent of Canadians thought of the terrorist attack as a mostly Indian affair. Thirty-four per cent of respondents thought both the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and airport security personnel deserved a great deal of the blame for the 1985 Air India bombing. In addition, 27 per cent of respondents believed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were largely to blame, while 18 per cent mentioned Transport Canada. ^[8]

Bob Rae

Former Premier of Ontario Bob Rae was selected by Prime Minister Martin to determine if a Royal Commission is needed and was asked to determine whether or not the response by Canadian agencies was sufficiently co-ordinated, and if not, to find out if those problems had been fixed.
On November 23, 2005, Rae recommends further inquiry into the investigation and prosecution. In testimony before the Commission of Inquiry led by Justice John C. Major, former Ontario Lieutenant-Governor, James K. Bartleman indicated that in his prior position as the former head of intelligence for Foreign Affairs Canada he had received information about a specific threat to Air India days before Flight 182 blew up in 1985.^[9] Bob Rae later admitted that he never bothered to interview Bartleman, the former head of intelligence for Foreign Affairs Canada while investigating the Air India bombing.^[10]

John C. Major

Following up on election commitments for a full public inquiry, on May 1, 2006, new Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed judge John C. Major to lead the Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the Bombing of Air India Flight 182. Testimony from witnesses begins in September 2006.
May 9, 2007 – Former Quebec provincial police officer Serge Carignan testified that Air India bombing could have been prevented if he had the opportunity to search the flight's baggage^[11]
June 20, 2007 - Major adjourned proceedings as two mystery witnesses billed as having "seismic" evidence for the Air India inquiry backed out at the last minute, fearing for their safety. A third surprise witness was unable to appear because of a heart attack.^[12]

Key timelines

The bombing of Air India Flight 182 and the Narita airport launched several investigations, inquiries and trials. The trial of Malik and Bagri is known as the Air India Trial; events relating to the incident are listed below in chronological order.

★ July, 1985 – Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney calls Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to offer his condolences, but does not call the victims' families to do the same. This causes an uproar among Indo-Canadians who feel that although this is the deadliest terrorist act to date, it is not taken seriously because the victims although mostly Canadian were not Caucasian.^{[13] [14]}

★ November 8, 1985 – The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) charge Talwinder Singh Parmar and Inderjit Singh Reyat with weapons, explosives and conspiracy offences after a raid on their homes. Reyat is convicted of the weapons offence and receives a fine of $2,000. Because of a lack of evidence, the charges against Parmar are dropped and no link to Air India is established.

★ January 22, 1986 – The Canadian Aviation Safety Board determines that a bomb was responsible for bringing down Air India 182.

★ February 4, 1986 – The Indian Government's Kirpal Commission of Inquiry reaches the same conclusion as the Canadian Aviation Safety Board.

★ February 1988 – Inderjit Singh Reyat is arrested by British police in Coventry, England.

★ December 8, 1989 – Following a lengthy court battle the British government agrees to extradite Reyat to Canada.

★ May 10, 1991 – Inderjit Singh Reyat receives a ten year sentence after being convicted of two counts of manslaughter and four explosives charges relating to the Narita Airport bombing.

★ October 9 to 15, 1992 – Talwinder Singh Parmar interrogated by Punjab Police; apparently names Lakhbir Singh Brar Rode as mastermind, and confesses to supplying the dynamite for the operation. The confession is destroyed, since Lakhbir is said to have been an Indian agent.

★ October 15, 1992 – Talwinder Singh Parmar is reportedly killed by Indian Police during a gun battle in village Kang Arian in Punjab.

★ October 27, 2000 – Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri are arrested by the RCMP. They are charged with 329 counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of the people on board Air India Flight 182, conspiracy to commit murder, the attempted murder of passengers and crew on the Canadian Pacific flight at Japan's New Tokyo International Airport (now Narita International Airport), and two counts of murder of the baggage handlers at New Tokyo International Airport.

★ June 4, 2001 – The British government gives Canada permission to charge Inderjit Singh Reyat in connection with the bombings.

★ June 6, 2001 – Inderjit Singh Reyat is arrested by the RCMP facing charges of murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy in the Air India bombing.

★ February 10, 2003 – Reyat pleads guilty to one count of manslaughter and a charge of aiding in the construction of a bomb. He was sentenced to five years in jail. At the time he was expected to provide testimony in the trial of Malik and Bagri but later claimed he couldn't remember.

★ April 2003 – The trial of Malik and Bagri begins after being delayed by pre-trial motions and problems with defence counsel.

★ May 18, 2004 – The Crown rests its case in the trial of Malik and Bagri after calling 80 witnesses.

★ May 31, 2004 – Malik and Bagri's defence begins.

★ October 19, 2004 – Closing arguments begin.

★ December 4, 2004 – The judge presiding over the Air India Trial, Justice Ian Josephson says the verdict will be delivered on March 16 2005.

★ March 16, 2005 – Justice Ian Josephson delivers the verdict for Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri: Not guilty on all counts.

I began by describing the horrific nature of these cruel acts of terrorism, acts which cry out for justice. Justice is not achieved, however, if persons are convicted on anything less than the requisite standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Despite what appear to have been the best and most earnest of efforts by the police and the Crown, the evidence has fallen markedly short of that standard.^[5]

★ January 6, 2006 – Inderjit Singh Reyat, the only man convicted in the 1985 Air India bombing, was due to receive a parole hearing in March. Instead Reyat was charged with perjury on his testimony on the Air India Trial. He was denied parole and brought back to British Columbia to face the new charges. He has indicated he will plead not guilty.^[16]

★ 2007-07-26 The investigative magazine Tehelka releases reports that retired police officer has maintained all records regarding Parmar's confession. These are handed over to RCMP/John Major Commission through the efforts of the investigations carried out over seven years by the NGO, Punjab Human Rights Organization.

What did the Canadian government know?

The Canadian government had been warned by the Indian government about the possibility of terrorist bombs aboard Air India flights in Canada. And over two weeks before the crash CSIS reported to the RCMP that the potential threat to Air India as well as Indian missions in Canada, was high.^[17]

Destroyed evidence

In his verdict Justice Josephson cited "unacceptable negligence" by CSIS when hundreds of wiretaps of the suspects were destroyed. Of the 210 wiretaps that were recorded during the months before and after the bombing, 156 were erased. These tapes continued to be erased even after the terrorists had become the primary suspects in the bombing.
CSIS claims the wiretaps contained no relevant information but a memo from the RCMP states that "There is a strong likelihood that had CSIS retained the tapes between March and August 1985, that a successful prosecution of at least some of principals in both bombings could have been undertaken."^[18]
On June 4, 1985, CSIS agents Larry Lowe and Lynn McAdams trailed Talwinder Singh Parmar and Inderjit Singh Reyat to Vancouver Island. The agents reported to the RCMP that they had heard a noise like a "loud gunshot" in the woods. Later that month Flight 182 was bombed. After the bombing the RCMP went to the site and found remains of an electrical blasting cap. ^[19]
The suspects in the bombing were apparently aware that they were under surveillance, because they used pay phones and talked in code. Translator's notes of the wiretaps records this exchange between Talwinder Parmar and a follower named Hardial Singh Johal on the same day the tickets were purchased on June 20, 1985.

Parmar: Did he write the story?

Johal: No he didn't.

Parmar: Do that work first.^[20]
After this call a man called the CP Air and booked the tickets and left Johal's number. Shortly afterwards, Johal called Parmar and asked him if he "can come over and read the story he asked for". Parmar said he would be there shortly.
This conversation appears to be an order from Parmar to book the tickets used to bomb the planes. Because the original wiretaps were erased by CSIS, they were inadmissible as evidence in court.

CSIS connection

During an interview with Bagri on October 28, 2000, RCMP agents describe Surjan Singh Gill as an agent for CSIS saying the reason that he resigned from the Babbar Khalsa was because his CSIS handlers told him to pull out.^[21]
After the subsequent failure of CSIS to stop the bombing of Flight 182, the head of CSIS was replaced by Reid Morden. In an interview to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's news program ''The National'', Morden claims that CSIS "dropped the ball" in its handling of the case. A Security Intelligence Review Committee cleared CSIS of any wrongdoing. However, that report remains secret to this day. The Canadian government continues to insist that there was no mole involved.

Books, memorials and recognition

★ Eight months after the bombing, ''Province'' newspaper reporter Salim Jiwa publishes ''Death Of Air India Flight 182''

★ June 23, 2005 - A memorial unveiled in Ireland on the 20th anniversary of the bombing. Governor General Adrienne Clarkson declared the anniversary a National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism. Clarkson also ordered that every June 23, flags across Canada be flown at half mast to mark the anniversary of the Air India bombing.

★ May 2005 - ''Loss of Faith: How the Air-India Bombers Got Away With Murder'' is published by ''Vancouver Sun'' reporter Kim Bolan ISBN 978-0-7710-1131-3

★ May 28, 2007 - Jiwa and fellow reporter Don Hauka publish ''Margin of Terror: A reporter's twenty-year odyssey covering the tragedies of the Air India bombing'' ISBN 978-1552637722

★ June 21, 2007 - CBC-TV announced the start of filming for ''Flight 182'', a documentary by Sturla Gunnarsson.^[22]

★ June 22, 2007 - A memorial was unveiled in Toronto, 22 years after the bombing. Most of the people killed were from Toronto. The memorial features a sundial and a wall bearing the names of the victims, which is oriented toward Ireland. The sundial’s base consists of stones from all provinces and territories of Canada, as well as the countries of the other victims.^[23]

See also

★ List of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners

★ Operation Blue Star

★ Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale

★ Golden Temple

★ Indira Gandhi

★

★ Sikhism in Canada

★ Yelavarthy Nayudamma

External links

★ The Verdict - Reasons for Judgment, R. v Malik and Bagri

★ Background on Air India bombing - CBC.ca

★ Aftermath of Air India - www.Canada.com Air India archives

★ Death of Flight 182 website - site trademarked by reporter and author Salim Jiwa

★ CBC Digital Archives - The Air India Investigation

★ ASN Aircraft accident description

References

1. In Depth: Air India - The Victims, CBC News Online, March 16, 2005
2. Report of the Court Investigating Accident to Air India Boeing 747 Aircraft VT-EFO, "Kanishka" on 23rd June 1985, Hon'ble Mr. Justice B.N. Kirpal Judge, ''High Court of Delhi'', February 26, 1986.
3. [2]
4. [3]
5. Supreme Court of British Columbia: Her Majesty the Queen Against Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri
6. Air India bomb maker denied parole, CBC News with files from Canadian Press, July 3, 2007
7. Queen's Privy Council of Canada: Address by Prime Minister Paul Martin at the Air India Memorial Ceremony
8. Canadians Assess Blame in Air India Bombing, Press Release, Angus Reid Global Monitor. Retrieved on May 14, 2007
9. CBC News, "Bartleman had reasons for waiting 22 years to share Air India evidence", May 4, 2007.
10. Les Whittington, "Rae didn't talk about attack with Bartleman", "Toronto Star", May 7, 2007.
11. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070509/airindia_070509/20070509?hub=Canada
12. Fearful Air India witnesses refuse to testify, By Kim Bolan, CanWest News Service, Retrieved on June 22, 2007
13. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060925/airindia_inquiry_060925/20060925?hub=TopStories
14. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/11/07/air-india.html
15. Supreme Court of British Columbia: Her Majesty the Queen Against Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri
16. [4]
17. [5]
18. [6]
19. [7]
20. [8]
21. [9]
22. CBC commissions documentary on Air India tragedy, CBC Arts, June 21, 2007.
23. Toronto reveals Air India memorial, by Mark Medley, CanWest News Service, June 22, 2007