Kanishka bombing convict in Canada walks free

REYAT SERVED TWO THIRDS OF A NINE-YEAR JAIL SENTENCE FOR PERJURY IN CONNECTION WITH THE BOMBING OF AIR INDIA FLIGHT 182 THAT KILLED 329 PEOPLE IN 1985

TORONTO: The only person convicted in the case related to the bombing of an Air India flight in 1985 has been released from a halfway house and allowed to return to his family home by the Parole Board of Canada.

Inderjit Singh Reyat, sentenced to prison in 2011 on perjury charges, was released from incarceration last year but had to remain in the halfway house, according to special conditions imposed by the Parole Board. At that time, Reyat had been deemed eligible for release after completing twothirds of his term.

The June 23, 1985, terrorist bombing of Air India’s Kanishka flight had claimed 329 lives. However, the prosecution could not substantiate a case against two of the principal accused, Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri. The only person jailed was Reyat.

A second bomb had exploded at Japan’s Narita airport, killing two baggage-handlers as they transferred cargo to another Air India plane. The blasts followed a crackdown on Sikh militants, and those behind it were allegedly seeking revenge for the Bluestar operation at Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Now, Reyat will return to his home in a suburb of Vancouver in the province of British Columbia.

The Vancouver Sun newspaper quoted board member Laura Hall as writing while making that decision that the possibility he would reoffend was low. She wrote: “However if there were a threat to your Sikh cause, your risk for future based group violence is high. There is no information that indicates your political cause is under threat.” Board spokesman Patrick Storey said Reyat’s parole officer assessed those with whom he will live “to ensure they will not have a negative influence on him”.

Conditions of his release from prison also still apply, including having no contact with the victims’ families or with extremists. Reyat must also shun all political activities and take counselling for violent tendencies, a lack of empathy and exaggerated beliefs.

He was a mechanic in westernmost Canada before the bombing.