Kanishka inquiry report to be released on Thursday

Bal Krishna
Toronto, Jun 14 (PTI) 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, outlining recommendations about how to
prevent such tragedies in future.
The report by the Public Inquiry Commission on the Air
India bombing is expected to be delivered to 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
Khalistan movement.
The trial Sikh 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.
Justice Major had noted at the first hearing that the
Inquiry is not connected to nor involved with ongoing police
investigations or court proceedings related to the explosion.
"This Inquiry will not focus on dissecting the past,"
he had said.
"It will look to how we can establish parameters for
the future – to help shape a system that contains sufficient
safeguards to prevent tragedies from occurring".
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.
The Commission heard from more than 200 witnesses
during the investigation into the June 23, 1985 bombing of Air
India Flight 182.
There were no survivors among the 329 people on board.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Sunday night
telecast a special report about the Air India bombing. PTI