A selected chronology of events in the ongoing 25-year Air India bombing saga
By: The Canadian Press
13/06/2010 3:16 PM
A selective chronology of events comprising the ongoing saga of the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182:
By: The Canadian Press
13/06/2010 3:16 PM
A selective chronology of events comprising the ongoing saga of the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182:
- June 5, 1984: Sikhs around the world are outraged after India's government orders a raid on Sikhism's holiest shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
- Oct. 30, 1984: Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. Thousands of Sikhs killed in riots in Indian cities.
- June 23, 1985: Air India Flight 182 leaves Toronto and explodes near Ireland, killing 329 people — 278 of them Canadians. Less than one hour before the blast, two baggage handlers at Tokyo's Narita airport are killed when a bag explodes as it is being transferred to an Air India flight.
- Nov. 8, 1985: Talwinder Singh Parmar and Inderjit Singh Reyat, an electrician from the Vancouver Island community of Duncan, B.C., are arrested by the RCMP in connection with bombings. Charges are dropped against Parmar. Reyat is fined for a minor, unrelated charge.
- Jan. 22, 1986: Canadian Aviation Safety Board concludes a bomb brought down the jet.
- February 1988: Reyat is arrested by police in Coventry, England, where he moved with his wife and children in 1986.
- Dec. 8, 1989: British authorities sign an extradition order for Reyat following a lengthy court battle.
- May 10, 1991: Reyat, an electrician from the Vancouver Island community of Duncan, B.C., is sentenced to 10 years in prison on manslaughter and explosives charges related to the Narita bombing.
- 1992: Parmar, a preacher from Burnaby, B.C., is killed in a shootout with Indian police officers. Critics say he was arrested and executed.
- May 1995: RCMP offer a $1-million reward for help catching the bombers.
- February 1998: RCMP Insp. Gary Bass, head of the Air India probe, says in a letter that investigators will recommend charges against Reyat and others.
- March 7, 1998: National Parole Board panel denies Reyat early release.
- Oct. 27, 2000: Ajaib Singh Bagri and Ripudaman Singh Malik are arrested and charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and conspiracy.
- June 4, 2001: British government grants permission for Reyat to be charged in Air India blast.
- June 6, 2001: Reyat is charged in Air India Flight 182 bombing just days before his 10-year sentence for his role in the Narita bombing is up. He remains in custody.
- Feb. 10, 2003: Reyat pleads guilty to one count of manslaughter and is sentenced to five years.
- April 28, 2003: Bagri and Malik are set to go on trial before a judge alone in B.C. Supreme Court.
- November 2003: Star witness against Malik testifies the accused confessed his involvement in the bombing on at least two occasions. She testifies he confided in her because the two were in love.
- December 2003: Crown shows a videotaped speech by Bagri who called for young Sikhs to rise up and take revenge against the Indian government. "Until we kill 50,000 Hindus, we will not rest,'' he shouted at a July 1984 New York rally.
- February 2004: A female friend of Bagri's is dismissed from testifying after she claims she can't recall the most basic details of her relationship with him. Authorities said she had told them Bagri came to her house on the eve of the terrorist attack to borrow her car to leave luggage at the airport. She refused.
- Dec. 3, 2004: Crown and defence rest in what's come to be called the bloodiest terror case in Canadian history. The trial ranks among the longest and most expensive Canada has ever seen.
- March 16, 2005: B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ian Josephson acquits Malik and Bagri, saying he found the main witnesses in the case not credible.
- April 26, 2005: Federal government appoints Bob Rae, the former Ontario premier, to look into whether Ottawa should call a public inquiry into the Air India investigation.
- November 2005: Then-Liberal government accepts Rae’s recommendation for an administrative inquiry, which would have no power of subpoena. Victims’ families had been pushing for a public inquiry.
- Jan. 6, 2006: Reyat charged with perjury, prosecutors allege he lied 27 times during testimony at the trials of Malik and Bagri.
- May 1, 2006: Prime Minister Stephen Harper calls for public inquiry into the Air India bombing, overruling the previous government’s decision.
- Sept. 25, 2006: former Supreme Court Justice John Major begins hearing evidence in public inquiry.
- Feb. 15, 2008: Major concludes hearings in Air India public inquiry.
- Jul. 9, 2008: B.C. court of appeal grants bail to Reyat, clearing the way for his release from prison.
- July 28, 2009: Commission of inquiry says draft of final report is complete.
- Dec 16, 2009: Lawyer says report from public inquiry slated for release in early 2010.
- Mar. 4, 2010: jury selection completed for Reyat perjury trial.
- Mar. 8, 2010: Comments from one juror in Reyat’s perjury trial raise concerns with the presiding judge, who dismisses the entire jury on the first day of the trial.
