A quarter-century after Canada's worst terrorist attack killed 329 people, an inquiry Commission will make its report into the 1985 Kanishka bombing public this week. The report by the Public Inquiry Commission on the Air India bombing is expected to be delivered to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and be made public on Thursday. The report is the product of nearly four years of work by former Supreme Court justice John Major and a staff of lawyers and researchers. The five volumes will total nearly 4,000 pages of historical narrative, factual findings by Major and recommendations for policy reforms. The Commission of Inquiry was established by Prime Minister Harper on May 1, 2006, to provide a report on the events surrounding the bombing of Air India Flight 182. All of the 329 people on board the aircraft died when it exploded over the Atlantic Ocean on June 23, 1985. Eighty-two of the victims were children and 280 were Canadian citizens. The flight, from Montreal was headed to Delhi with Mumbai as its final destination. The explosion was orchestrated by supporters of the so called Khalistan. The trial of separatists accused in the bombing — Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, concluded in 2005 and both were acquitted due to inadequate evidence. The only person convicted of involvement in the bombing was Inderjit Singh Reyat, who pleaded guilty in 2003 to manslaughter in constructing the bomb used on Flight 182 and received a five-year sentence. While the Commission has broad powers of subpoena, it is not a court of law. It cannot find guilt nor make any award, according to an opening statement issued by the Commission on June 26, 2006.
News On AIR | June 14, 2010 11:57 AM
Report of Inquiry commission over Kanishka bombing to be made public this week