|
More
|
News & Analysis |
|
Police arrest third Air-India suspect By Robert Matas VANCOUVER -- The Mounties have arrested a third suspect in the bombing of an Air-India jet, the RCMP said late last night, and police are scrambling to pull together enough evidence to arrest at least three more Sikh extremists in the mass murder of 329 passengers and crew in the 1985 explosion. No details of the latest arrest were made, and no charges have been laid yet against the suspect, said RCMP Constable Cate Galliford. She did not identify the suspect, who was taken into custody in British Columbia's Lower Mainland. So far, the RCMP have charged those alleged to be part of the so-called brain trust behind two well co-ordinated Sikh terrorist bombings on June 23, 1985, on opposite sides of the world at the height of an insurgency for an independent Sikh homeland in India. The two suspects arrested Friday are scheduled to appear in court today. One, wealthy Vancouver businessman Ripudaman Singh
Malik, was picked up
Friday just hours before he was to leave Canada for Pakistan. The whereabouts of the activist, dubbed the eleventh-hour man, is unknown, and some say he has left Canada for Pakistan. Police would not confirm or deny yesterday whether they have mounted an international hunt for the suspect. Nevertheless, police still expect to arrest those responsible for reserving seats on the flights, for driving the luggage that contained homemade bombs to the airport and for checking the bags onto the flights. Air-India Flight 182 blew apart over the Atlantic as it approached the coast of Ireland, the world's worst single act of air terrorism. It is not clear whether Inderjit Singh Reyat, an electrician from Duncan, B.C., currently serving his final year of a 10-year sentence for manslaughter, will face additional charges. He was convicted of building one of the bombs. Police described Mr. Reyat last week as an unindicted conspirator in the Air-India bombing. Some speculate that Mr. Reyat was not charged because he has agreed to testify against others involved in the crime. Alternately, a member of the Sikh community said yesterday that Mr. Reyat, who has both British and Canadian citizenship, was not charged in the Air-India bombing because he was extradited from England to face other charges, not charges in the Air-India explosion. However, his lawyer Kuldip Chaggar said yesterday Mr. Reyat was not charged because the police do not have any evidence to link Mr. Reyat to the crime. "He has always maintained he has nothing to do with the Air-India bombing," Mr. Chaggar said. Mr. Chaggar also dismissed speculation that Mr. Reyat made a deal with prosecutors to testify at the trial. Mr. Reyat has previously said he was offered money and other benefits if he would testify against those involved in the Air-India bombing. But the RCMP have not spoken to Mr. Reyat in more than a year, his lawyer said. The mid-air explosion aboard the flight en route from Canada to England 15 years ago killed 329 people and remains the bloodiest terrorist attack in aviation history. An hour earlier, two baggage handlers were killed when a bomb in baggage in Japan's Narita airport destined for an Air-India flight exploded. Police allege both bombs were in luggage boarded on flights originating from Vancouver. Since announcing the arrest of Mr. Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri of Kamloops, police have been making repeated appeals for members of the public to call the police tip line. Authorities are hoping the arrest of Mr. Bagri and Mr. Malik will convince some people in the Sikh community who were previously reluctant to co-operate with police that criminal charges would be pursued. "The arrests came as quite a surprise," a well-informed community member said. "Everyone was convinced that the police were never going to arrest anyone." Mr. Malik and Mr. Bagri will be officially charged in the Provincial Court of B.C. today with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to put a bomb on two flights originating in Vancouver. Government lawyers Joe Bellows, a senior trial counsel, and Richard Cairns, who was involved in the prosecution of Mr. Reyat for the Narita bomb explosion, will be leading the prosecution team in the courtroom. Mr. Bagri's lawyer, Narindar Kang, declined to comment about the charges. Mr. Malik's lawyer, Terry Laliberté, was critical of the arrest, although he indicated he has not yet seen the basis for the charges. "I'm very surprised they proceeded with no direct evidence against my client," he told a television reporter yesterday, referring to the lack of any physical evidence linked to the crime. Both Mr. Malik and Mr. Bagri have been held in custody and have not yet applied for bail. Mr. Malik, who has previously said he had nothing to do with the Air-India bombing, was arrested on the day he was scheduled to fly to Pakistan. Police found an airline ticket to Pakistan in his desk at his downtown Vancouver office. Constable Catherine Galliford, of the RCMP's 60-member Air-India Task Force, dismissed a suggestion that police were pushed into arresting Mr. Malik on Friday, fearing that he was about to flee the country. Police arrested Mr. Malik according to an operational plan that was developed during the summer, she said in an interview. The date of Oct. 27 was set a few months ago, she said, adding that finding a ticket to Pakistan on Mr. Malik's desk was just a coincidence. The police did not know Mr. Malik was planning to leave Canada, she said. A community member with ties to the activists said Mr. Malik was not fleeing Canada in anticipation of his arrest. He was going to Pakistan to celebrate the birthday of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion. Source: The Globe and Mail October 30, 2000, Monday.
|
