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National Post

RCMP finally discovers identify of mysterious 1985 Air India bomb-testing suspect

Article content BANTRY, Ireland — Police in British Columbia have finally identified the mysterious man who helped test a bomb on Vancouver Island a few weeks before the Air India bombing on June 23, 1985. Article content RCMP Asst. Commissioner David Teboul told Postmedia that the previously unidentified suspect in the mass murder case recently died without ever facing charges. Article content Article content He said he couldn't release the name of the man due to privacy laws even though he's now dead. Article content Teboul and several other RCMP officers are part of the Canadian delegation here to mark the 40th anniversary of the Air India bombing. Dozens of relatives of victims are arriving to attend the service at a memorial to the 329 people who died when a B.C.-made bomb exploded on Air India Flight 182 off the coast of Ireland. Article content Article content Teboul, who is the commander of federal policing in B.C., said that despite the acquittals of two key bombing suspects in 2005, investigators have continued to work on the file 'to tie up some loose ends and discover more truth that's independent of judicial process.' Article content That's what lead them to uncover the identity of the mystery suspect, dubbed Mr. X, who travelled to Duncan on June 4, 1985, with terror plot mastermind Talwinder Singh Parmar. The two men then joined up with electrician Inderjit Singh Reyat. Article content Article content The trio went into the woods and tested a bomb all while they were being followed by agents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. The agents heard the blast but thought it was a gunshot. Article content Article content Parmar, founder of the Babbar Khalsa Sikh separatist group, was killed by police in Punjab in 1992 before he could be charged in the Air India terrorism plot. Article content Reyat was convicted of manslaughter for building another bomb that exploded at Japan's Narita Airport 54 minutes before the Air India blast. Two baggage handlers were killed. And he pleaded guilty to assisting Mr. X and Parmar build the Air India bomb. Article content Article content Teboul said that while there is an continuing investigation 'there's very little realistic chance of seeing this matter go to another trial.'