Friday, December 12, 2025
ADVT 
National

Counting the cost of the 1985 Air India bombing tragedy

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 19 Jun, 2025 03:41 PM
  • Counting the cost of the 1985 Air India bombing tragedy

Monday marks the 40th anniversary of the terrorist attack that destroyed Air India Flight 182.

The deadliest terrorist attack in Canadian history would result in a trial that cost almost $60 million, a federal investigation report and a commission of inquiry. But only one suspect was ever convicted.

THE CASUALTIES

All 307 passengers and 22 crew aboard Flight 182 were killed on June 23, 1985. About an hour earlier, two baggage handlers also died when another bomb planted in the same conspiracy exploded at Narita Airport in Japan.

THE SUSPECTS

Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri were acquitted of mass murder and conspiracy in 2005 after a two-year trial in Vancouver. In 2022, Malik was shot dead in Surrey, B.C., by two paid hit men, whose motives have never been made public.

Inderjit Singh Reyat was convicted of manslaughter in 1991 in the Narita bombing. In 2003, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the bombing of Flight 182 and admitted to building the bombs. He was later convicted of perjuring himself at the trial of Malik and Bagri. He was freed in 2016.

Sikh extremist Talwinder Singh Parmar was identified as having masterminded the attack by the judge in Malik and Bagri's trial, as well as the 2010 report from the commission of inquiry. Parmar was shot dead by Indian police in 1992.

A suspect known only as "Mr. X" has never been identified.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

MORE National ARTICLES

B.C. pushes back on Alberta's pipeline pitch as premiers, PM meet in Saskatoon

B.C. pushes back on Alberta's pipeline pitch as premiers, PM meet in Saskatoon
British Columbia is pushing back against Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's proposal for a bitumen pipeline to B.C.'s northern coast.

B.C. pushes back on Alberta's pipeline pitch as premiers, PM meet in Saskatoon

Defence wraps its case in hockey players' sex assault trial

Defence wraps its case in hockey players' sex assault trial
Defence lawyers representing five hockey players accused of sexual assault closed their case Monday, wrapping up testimony in a trial that has heard from nine witnesses over roughly six weeks, including the complainant and one of the accused.

Defence wraps its case in hockey players' sex assault trial

Hotel spaces freed up in Winnipeg for wildfire evacuees, Alberta dealing with winds

Hotel spaces freed up in Winnipeg for wildfire evacuees, Alberta dealing with winds
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Monday hotels in Winnipeg are opening up to thousands of evacuees who have fled their homes due to raging wildfires.

Hotel spaces freed up in Winnipeg for wildfire evacuees, Alberta dealing with winds

Former PM Harper calls for renewed ties with India, does not mention murder probe

Former PM Harper calls for renewed ties with India, does not mention murder probe
Former prime minister Stephen Harper called on Canada to move past its dispute with India, arguing in a speech on Saturday that the country is an indispensable partner in a volatile world.

Former PM Harper calls for renewed ties with India, does not mention murder probe

B.C. provides peek into $2.95B SkyTrain tunnel, set to open in 2027

B.C. provides peek into $2.95B SkyTrain tunnel, set to open in 2027
The British Columbia government has provided a glimpse of progress on the Broadway subway tunnel, which is set to expand Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain capacity significantly in 2027.

B.C. provides peek into $2.95B SkyTrain tunnel, set to open in 2027

Alberta woman allegedly released from jail with fake documents arrested in B.C.

Alberta woman allegedly released from jail with fake documents arrested in B.C.
An Alberta woman who Crown prosecutors say was wrongfully released from an Edmonton area jail with allegedly fake release papers has been arrested in B.C.

Alberta woman allegedly released from jail with fake documents arrested in B.C.