Air India Flight 182

Air India Flight 182 was a Boeing 747 that exploded on June 23, 1985 while at an altitude of 31,000 feet (9500 m) above the Atlantic Ocean, south of Ireland; all 329 on board were killed, of whom 82 were children and 280 were Canadian citizens. The explosion caused by a bomb placed in checked baggage was the single largest terrorist attack before those of September 11, 2001, and the largest mass murder in Canadian history. It occurred within an hour of the Narita Airport Bombing.

The Suspects

The main suspects in the bombing were the members of a Sikh terrorist group operating in Canada called the Babbar Khalsa. The Babbar Khalsa was devoted to creating a Sikh state called Khalistan in the Punjab.

Related Topics:
Babbar Khalsa - Khalistan - Punjab

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On November 6, 1985 the RCMP raided the homes of the suspected Sikh terrorists, Talwinder Singh Parmar, Inderjit Singh Reyat. Surjan Singh Gill, Hardial Singh Johal, and Manmohan Singh.

Related Topics:
November 6 - 1985 - Talwinder Singh Parmar - Inderjit Singh Reyat

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Talwinder Singh Parmar was a naturalized Canadian citizen living in British Columbia and was wanted for extradition to India for his role in activities in the Punjab including the murder of two Police officers. At this time, the Indian police and Khalistan supporters were engaged in a bloody war in which many innocent people were caught by excesses on both sides. On March 5, 1985, three months before the bombing, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had obtained permission to tape Parmar’s phone on the basis that he was the leader of the terrorist organization, the Babbar Khalsa http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/airindia/documents/tab1.pdf.

Related Topics:
Talwinder Singh Parmar - British Columbia - March 5 - 1985 - Canadian Security Intelligence Service - Babbar Khalsa

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Inderjit Singh Reyat was living in Duncan, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and working as an auto mechanic and electrician.

Related Topics:
Inderjit Singh Reyat - Duncan - Vancouver Island - British Columbia

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Surjan Singh Gill was living in Vancouver as the self-proclaimed consul-general of Khalistan. He later fled Canada and is believed to be in hiding in London, England.

Related Topics:
Vancouver - Khalistan - Canada - London - England

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Ripudaman Singh Malik is a Vancouver businessman who helped found a credit union and several “Khalsa Schools”.

Related Topics:
Ripudaman Singh Malik - Vancouver

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Ajaib Singh Bagri was a mill worker living in Kamloops, British Columbia. He was taped giving a speech to Sikhs at Madison Square Garden on July 1984 in which he tells the crowd "Until we kill 50,000 Hindus we will not rest." The feelings among all Sikhs against the Hindu rulers of India were very stong at this time because a month earlier in June 1984, the Indian Army stormed the Golden Temple in Amritsar ostensibly to flush out terrorists and caused the desecration and massive destruction of the holiest Sikh shrine along with the death of numerous pilgrims caught in the cross-fire.

Related Topics:
Ajaib Singh Bagri - Kamloops - Madison Square Garden

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Hardial Singh Johal and Manmohan Singh were both followers of Parmar and active in the Sikh temples where he preached. On November 15, 2002 Hardial Singh Johal, died of natural causes at 55. He had allegedly stored the suitcases with bombs in the basement of a Vancouver school but was never charged in the case.

Related Topics:
November 15 - 2002

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Daljit Sandhu is later named by a Crown witness as the man who picked up the tickets for the bombing. Mr. Sandhu was cleared by Judge Josephson in his March 16 judgement.

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