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.

What did the Canadian government know?

There are allegations that CSIS interfered in the investigation by destroying hundreds of wiretaps to protect the identity of their mole in the terrorist group.

Related Topics:
CSIS - Wiretap

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Of the 210 wiretaps that were recorded during the months before and after the bombing 156 were erased. These tapes continued to be erased even after the terrorists had become the primary suspects in the bombing.

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CSIS claims the wiretaps contained no relevant information but a memo from the RCMP states that "There is a strong likelihood that had CSIS retained the tapes between March and August 1985, that a successful prosecution of at least some of principals in both bombings could have been undertaken." http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/airindia/parmar_p7.html

Related Topics:
CSIS - RCMP

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The Canadian government had been warned by the Indian government about the possibility of terrorist bombs aboard Air India flights in Canada. And over two weeks before the crash CSIS reported to the RCMP that the potential threat to Air India as well as Indian missions in Canada, was high http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/airindia/documents/tab3.pdf.

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On June 4, 1985, CSIS agents trailed Talwinder Singh Parmar and Inderjit Singh Reyat to Vancouver Island. The agents reported to the RCMP that they had heard a noise like a "loud gunshot" in the woods. Later that month Flight 182 was bombed. After the bombing the RCMP went to the site and found remains of an electrical blasting cap.

Related Topics:
June 4 - 1985 - Talwinder Singh Parmar - Inderjit Singh Reyat - Vancouver Island

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http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/airindia/documents/tab3.pdf

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The suspects in the bombing were apparently aware of their surveillance, using pay phones and talking in code on the phone. Translator's notes of the wiretaps records this exchange between Talwinder Parmar and a follower named Hardial Singh Johal on the same day the tickets were purchased on June 20, 1985. http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/airindia/documents/tab6.pdf

Related Topics:
June 20 - 1985

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Parmar: Did he write the story?

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Johal: No he didn't.

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Parmar: Do that work first.

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After this call a man called the CP Air and booked the tickets and left Johal's number. Shortly afterwards, Johal called Parmar and asked him if he "can come over and read the story he asked for". Parmar said he would be there shortly.

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This conversation would appear to be an order from Parmar to book the tickets used to bomb the planes, however because the original wiretaps were erased by CSIS and are useless as evidence in court.

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On November 18, 1998, Tara Singh Hayer was shot to death while getting out of his car in Surrey, British Columbia. Hayer had previously survived an earlier attempt made on his life in 1988 but was paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. Hayer had provided an affidavit to the RCMP in 1995 claiming that he was present during a conversation in which Bagri admitted his involvement in the bombings. Because of his death the affidavit was inadmissible in court.

Related Topics:
November 18 - 1998 - Tara Singh Hayer - Surrey - British Columbia - RCMP

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http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/airindia/documents/hayer.pdf

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During an interview with Bagri on October 28, 2000, RCMP agents describe Surjan Singh Gill as an agent for CSIS saying the reason that he resigned from the Babbar Khalsa was because his CSIS handlers told him to pull out.

Related Topics:
October 28 - 2000 - CSIS - Babbar Khalsa

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http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/airindia/documents/tab89.pdf

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To this day the Canadian government continues to insist there was no mole involved.

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