How Khalistanis Plotted Canada's Worst Terror Attack: The Air-India Kanishka bombing of 1985

The plane in question, VT-EFO, was spotted landing at London Heathrow Aon Junep10, June 10, 1985—less than two weeks prior to the bombing.

On a seemingly ordinary day in 1985, a cold-blooded act of sacrilegious terrorism occurred in the skies, forever cementing a sense of terror in the hearts of innocent travellers. Air India Flight 182, soaring majestically through the skies, was ruthlessly blown off course, and all signs of life on board were obliterated. This tragic incident was an outright disaster that exposed glaring weaknesses in international security and the failures of intelligence agencies. What drives an individual or an entire organisation to stage such a horror? Let's uncover the chilling reality of this dark chapter in the history of global aviation.

Air India Flight 182: A tragic tale of terrorism and intelligence failure
The Horrifying Incident: The Bombing of Air India Flight 182

On June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182, a Boeing 747 jumbo jet, took to the skies from Toronto, Canada, bound for Mumbai, India. The plane was scheduled to make a stopover in London after departing Montreal but never reached its intended runway. Tragically, the plane disappeared from radar systems just 45 minutes before it was scheduled to arrive in London airspace, and a seismic explosion was detected. When wreckage turned up on the Irish coast, the terrible truth emerged: an explosive device had detonated in midair, tearing the plane apart and killing all 329 passengers and crew.

Background and motives: Understanding the reasons for the attack

This reckless attack was not without reason, as twisted and immoral as it was. The Canadian government suspected that the bombing of Air India Flight 182 was a heinous act of revenge triggered by the actions of the Indian military in 1984. At that time, a military operation had been launched at the Golden Temple, a Sikh religious site in India, to eliminate Khalistani terrorists desperate for an independent Sikh state. This operation inadvertently sowed the seeds of anger within a Khalistani group and triggered a retaliatory attack on an innocent crowd.

Main culprit: the conspiracy and persons involved

The mastermind of this cold-bloodedly calculated act of terrorism was Talvinder Singh Parmar. Parmar, a Khalistani militant and leader of a terrorist group called Babbar Khalsa, had lived in Canada since 1970 and, shockingly, held Canadian citizenship since 1976. He was no stranger to crime, having a criminal record in India and a warrant out for his arrest for the murder of police officers in Punjab. Despite repeated extradition requests from India, Canada flatly refused to extradite Parmar, thus enabling a tragedy of immense proportions.

Parmar enlisted the indispensable help of Inderjit Singh Reyat, another Khalistani militant with a serious agenda. Reyat, who lived in Vancouver and worked as an auto mechanic, was given the sinister task of crafting two bombs, one of which would capture Flight 182 in its deadly grip. The second bomb, destined for another Air India flight bound for Tokyo, exploded prematurely due to a timing error, resulting in the sudden deaths of two baggage handlers in Japan.

The failure of intelligence and security agencies: missed opportunities to prevent the attack

Although most of the blame for this diabolical act lies with the perpetrators, the gross negligence of the Canadian intelligence community should not be overlooked. Prior to the bombing of the Air India flight, there were several crucial opportunities to intervene and prevent the impending disaster. Canadian intelligence had observed Parmar conducting bomb tests in a wooded area, but inexplicably dismissed these activities as simple gunfire. In addition, the airport's security system failed to detect illegal activity, such as a passenger checking in luggage under a false name—the luggage that contained the deadly bomb.

Investigations and sentencing: the reaction after the incident and their criticism

After the bombing, the Canadian government's response and subsequent investigation were sharply criticised on several fronts. It took several years for Canadian authorities to bring all individuals associated with the tragic incident to justice. Surprisingly, only one person, Reyat, was ultimately convicted. Despite the serious charges brought against him, he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, even though it was not a recognised act of terrorism. The other two defendants were acquitted due to a lack of evidence and questions about the reliability of witnesses.

Ripudaman Singh Malika

Canadian police have stated that they are still investigating the reason for the targeted execution of Ripudaman Singh Malika, a 75-year-old Sikh man who was acquitted in the 1985 Air India Kanishka terrorist attack case.

Malik was fatally shot Thursday in Surrey, British Columbia. According to CBC News, Malik and co-defendant Ajaib Singh Bagri were acquitted in 2005 of charges of mass murder and conspiracy related to two 1985 explosions that killed 331 people.

The lawsuit states that a witness "heard three gunshots and pulled Malik out of his red Tesla, who was bleeding from a neck wound."

Another witness from a nearby store recognised Malik as the shooting victim.

Surrey's Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) stated that a "man shot at this location around 9:30 a.m. died at the scene." Police are not releasing the identity of the victim because it appears to be a targeted shooting.

Police stated they found a "suspicious vehicle" that was "on fire," the article said.

According to another article from ABC News, authorities did not initially release the victim's identity, but it was confirmed after Malik's son, Jaspreet Malik, posted a message about his father's shooting on social media.

"The media will always refer to him as someone charged in connection with the Air India bombing," Malik's son wrote on Facebook.

He claimed that his father was "wrongly accused" in the case and that the court "found "no evidence against him," he said. "The media and the RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] never seemed to accept the court's decision, and I pray that today's tragedy is not related to that.”

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said in a statement, "We are aware of Mr. Malik's background, but at this time we are still working to determine the motive." We can confirm that the incident appears to have been targeted and that there is no additional danger to the public."

The 1985 Air India bombing was one of the largest terrorist attacks in Canadian and airline history.

On June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182, carrying 329 passengers, including 268 Canadians and 24 Indian nationals, departed Toronto and paused in Montreal before proceeding to London and eventually Bombay.

The plane was 31,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean when a suitcase bomb exploded in the forward baggage compartment, killing all passengers on board.

Another bomb was to be placed on an Air India flight from Japan but exploded at Tokyo's Narita Airport, killing two baggage handlers.

According to the CBC News report, reactions to Malik's death varied. While Malik's friends said they had "lost a hero of the Sikh community," former British Columbia Premier Ujjal Dosanjh, a longtime friend of Malik, said he had been a divisive figure.

"One of the other complicating factors is that he recently travelled to India and wrote a letter in support of Prime Minister Modi and his policies, and I think that may have had reverberations and effects within the community," Dosanjh said in the article.

According to the article, Malik was, until recently, chairman of Khalsa School and ran two campuses of the private school in Surrey and Vancouver. He was also president of the Khalsa Credit Union (KCU), which has more than 16,000 members in Vancouver.

He is survived by his wife, five children, four daughters-in-law and eight grandchildren. Inderjit Singh Reyat was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his involvement in the manufacture of the explosives and for lying in the trials, including the trial of Malik. After serving two-thirds of his sentence for perjury, he was released in 2016.

Reyat was the only person convicted in connection with the Kanishka bombing, blamed on radical Khalistanis seeking revenge for the Indian Army's 1984 operation to eliminate terrorists at the Golden Temple.

Parmar, Talwinder Singh

Talwinder Singh Parmar (February 26, 1944 – October 15, 1992), also known as "Hardev Singh Parmar," was a Khalistani terrorist responsible for the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182 that killed 329 people. Until the September 11 attacks in the United States, this was the worst single terrorist attack in aviation history. Also, on the same day, another bomb was set to explode aboard Air India Flight 301 in Japan, but it exploded while the plane was still on the ground, killing two passengers. Parmar was also the founder, leader, and Jathedar of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), a militant Sikh organisation that participated in the Khalistan campaign.

Parmar co-founded Babbar Khalsa International with Sukhdev Singh Babbar in 1978 and headed the Canadian chapter.

He was imprisoned in Germany in 1983 after being suspected of murdering two Punjab police officers in 1981. He was released in 1984 and immediately returned to Canada. After the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182, Parmar returned to India and was allegedly murdered in a confrontation with Punjab police on October 15, 1992. He was eventually identified as the architect of the 1985 Air India bombing, the largest mass murder and terrorist attack in Canadian history.

Air India Flight 182 was attacked on June 23, 1985. It was part of a failed double-bombing attack that also affected Air India Flight 301. In a March 2005 ruling, Justice Josephson of the British Columbia Supreme Court found that Talwinder Singh Parmar, a member of the Babbar Khalsa organisation, was one of the leaders of the plot. The plane was scheduled to fly from Montreal, Canada, across the Atlantic to New Delhi, India. All 329 passengers, including 268 Canadians, 27 British, and 24 Indians, were slaughtered.

Parmar was of interest to Canadian police from the moment he returned to Canada after being arrested in West Germany. Surveillance of Parmar began in 1982, when officers were dispatched to track his travels. On March 14, 1985, a warrant was issued in federal court under the CSIS Act to intercept Parmar's conversations.

Three members of the Sikh community in Vancouver, Ajaib Singh Bagri, Ripudaman Singh Malik, and Inderjit Singh Reyat, were charged in April 2003. Reyat pleaded guilty to manslaughter, while Bagri and Malik were found not guilty. In 2010, the results of a second commission of inquiry that the Canadian government established and that Justice John C. Major served as its chairman. The final investigation found that Canadian intelligence had monitored Parmar before the attack and wiretapped him afterward. Parmar moved to India after the incident but was killed in a confrontation with Indian police before subsequent investigations and criminal inquiries were completed. The report also sharply criticises CSIS for destroying several recordings of Parmar.

Death

After the bombing of Air India Flight 182, Parmar went to India and was murdered in 1992 during an altercation with police in Punjab.

Inderjit Singh Reyat

Canada pardons a man convicted of the 1985 Air India bombing that killed 329 people. According to the Canadian Parole Board, the only convict of the 1985 Air India bombing that killed 331 people has been released.

Inderjit Singh Reyat was sentenced to rehabilitation after being released from prison a year ago after two decades. That condition has now been lifted, and Reyat can resume his normal life, including "living in a private apartment," Parole Board spokesman Patrick Storey told AFP in an email.

The Sikh immigrant from India was found guilty of building explosive devices that were placed in luggage and placed on two planes departing from Vancouver, as well as lying in court to protect his co-defendants.

Lessons and Implications: The Need for Global Cooperation and Improved Security Measures

The grim story of the Air India Flight 182 disaster is a haunting reminder of the human cost of terrorism, the consequences of intelligence failures, and the gaps in airport security. The incident has highlighted the urgent need for nations to work together to combat the sinister forces of terrorism that continue to threaten world peace and security. The story underscores the importance of proactively intervening to not only prevent such heinous acts after the fact but to anticipate and contain them before they have a chance to manifest.

Even though years have passed since this tragic event, its memory remains a powerful reminder and a call to action. The precious lives that were lost are a clear call to strengthen our collective security, learn from the mistakes of the past, and ensure that such horrific incidents are forever consigned to the annals of history.

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