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Hindustan Times
4 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Air India Flight 182: Canada identifies key suspect after 40 years
Toronto: Nearly 40 years after the bombing of Air India flight 182, the Kanishka, by pro-Khalistan extremists, Canadian law enforcement has finally identified a mysterious suspect who was linked to the terror attack. However, in another milestone in the travesty of an investigation, police have refused to name that person, who will never face charges as he is now dead. A Canadian flag in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Bloomberg) The outlet Vancouver Sun reported on Friday that the suspect who know as Mr X has been identified by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or RCMP investigators. However, RCMP's Assistant Commissioner David Teboul told the outlet that privacy laws prevented them from identifying the person who was with mastermind Talwinder Singh Parmar and bomb-maker Inderjit Singh Reyat when they tested an explosive in the woods in Duncan, British Columbia, prior to the attack. While the RCMP has maintained that the investigation into the Khalistani terror attack remains ongoing, Teboul conceded 'there's very little realistic chance of seeing this matter go to another trial.' This adds another footnote to the inglorious blundering of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service or CSIS, which did little to prevent the attack and in fact destroyed evidence, and the RCMP, which could only secure a single conviction, that of Reyat, in what remains the worst incident of terror in Canadian history. On June 23, 1985, the Kanishka exploded off the coast of Ireland due to a bomb planted there. Police have yet to even identify the person who booked the luggage with the incendiary device on to that flight and a second Air India flight. The second bomb claimed the lives of two Japanese baggage handlers at Narita Airport, bringing the total deaths in the terror plot to 331. Reacting to the identification of Mr X, former West Vancouver police chief Kash Heed said, 'This is the disdain I have for how this investigation has unfolded over the last 40 years. It adds to the frustration that the families and communities have gone through.' He asked, 'Would the treatment have been the same if the skin colour of the victims had been different? Do we still have information under wraps?' As to the statement that of there being another trial, Heed, also a former Solicitor General in British Columbia, said, 'From my perspective, you will see very limited resources ever applied to the investigation again.' Teboul was part of a Canadian delegation to Ahakista in Ireland where the first memorial to the terror attack was established in 1986. That official delegation is being led by Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree. Irish Taoiseach or PM Micheál Martin will lead a service at the memorial on the anniversary on Monday and Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri will be present, leading an Indian delegation. Retired Supreme Court Justice John Major headed a Commission of Inquiry into the tragedy. In his report, submitted in 2010, he wrote, 'This remains the largest mass murder in Canadian history, and was the result of a cascading series of errors.' As Edmonton-based Meera Nair, who lost friends in the tragedy, commented, 'What does it say about our values, that our worst brush with terrorism, the bombing of Air India Flight 182 on 23 June 1985 with the loss of all 329 people aboard, was allowed to happen? India had provided evidence of impending terrorism by Khalistani-extremists and had identified AI 182 as a target. But Indian concerns were crassly dismissed. That act of terrorism was our national introduction to Khalistan.' As the Canadian establishment including its media continue to normalise the movement responsible for the country's worst terror attack, it remains evident few lessons have been learnt in the country where the mastermind lived, planned and operationalised it.
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
Kanishka bombing: Canada police identifies 'Mr. X'; refuses to disclose his identity
Representational Image The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have finally identified "Mr X" - a hitherto unknown person who helped test a bomb a few weeks before the deadly June 1985 mid-air bombing of the Kanishka, an Air India flight which took off from Canada's Montreal and was bound for Mumbai. Also Read: Indian-Canadian groups urge Kanishka memorial to honour 1985 Air India bombing victims However, the RCMP refused to disclose the individual's identity citing "privacy laws." "The previously unidentified suspect in the mass murder case recently died without ever facing charges," Vancouver Sun quoted RCMP assistant commissioner David Teboul as saying. "The name cannot be released due to privacy laws even though the he man is dead," he added. Teboul made the remarks ahead of the 40th anniversary (June 23) of the bombing by Khalistani terrorists, which killed all 329 (307 passengers and 22 crew members) on board the flight (AI 182). He was speaking in Ireland, where he is member of a Canadian delegation for the 40th anniversary ceremony. AI 182 was flying towards London for a stopover in the British capital when the bomb exploded and the remnants of the aircraft fell into a sea off the coast of Ireland. How was ' Mr. X ' identified? According to Teboul, despite the acquittals of two key suspects in 2005, investigators continued to work on the file 'to tie up some loose ends," and this led them to uncover the identity of Mr X. On June 4, 1985, he travelled to Duncan, British Columbia, with terror plot mastermind Talwinder Singh Parmar. The two then joined up with electrician Inderjit Singh Reyat. The group then went into the woods and tested a bomb, unaware that they were being followed by agents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. The agents heard the explosion but mistook it as a gunshot. Also Read: Canadian govt had whiff of 1985 Air India bombing plot that killed 329, says report While Parmar, the Babbar Khalsa International founder, was killed in a police encounter in Punjab in 1992, Reyat pleaded guilty to assisting Mr X and Parmar in developing the Air India bomb. However, he later testified that he didn't know the name of Mr. X.
Ottawa Citizen
19 hours ago
- Ottawa Citizen
RCMP finally identifies 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 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 Leading the Canadian delegation will be federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree. Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin is scheduled to attend, along with local officials and a representative of the Indian government. 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.'
Vancouver Sun
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
RCMP finally identifies Air India bomb-testing suspect
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. RCMP Asst. Commissioner David Teboul told Postmedia that the previously unidentified suspect in the mass murder case recently died without ever facing charges. He said he couldn't release the name of the man due to privacy laws even though he's now dead. 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. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Leading the Canadian delegation will be federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree. Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin is scheduled to attend, along with local officials and a representative of the Indian government. 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.' 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. 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. 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. 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. But he testified at the trial of his co-accused that he didn't know X's name. He was later convicted of perjury. Teboul said that while there is an continuing investigation 'there's very little realistic chance of seeing this matter go to another trial.' But officers are doing administrative work like returning exhibits and working with families to better memorialize the victims. The RCMP is working with the federal Global Affairs Department to get an agreement with the government of India to allow pieces of the Boeing 747 recovered from the ocean to remain in Canada as part of a permanent exhibit or memorial, he said. It's important for Canadian investigators who worked on the case to attend the memorial here 'out of respect for the families, out of respect and remembrance of the victims,' said Teboul, who is on his third trip to the seaside memorial at Ahakista, Ireland. 'This is the largest act of terrorism in the history of Canada, so we — the RCMP — have an obligation to memorialize it and pay respect every year.' He has developed close ties with Irish first responders who pulled as many of the victims' bodies out of the sea as they could that day. 'It was really a Canadian tragedy, first and foremost. But it was also an Irish tragedy. A lot of Irish folks have been very invested in it through the last 40 years,' Teboul said. 'It's part of their history. So there's a lot of emotions there.' kbolan@ Blueksy: @
