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Air-India
bombing suspect will push for bail Vancouver — One of two alleged Sikh religious extremists charged with the 1985 bombing of an Air-India jet that killed 329 people will likely ask a Canadian court to release him on bail next week, his attorney said Friday. The bombing, which downed an Air-India Boeing 747 off the coast of Ireland, was the deadliest act of aviation sabotage in history. Ajaib Singh Bagri, a Kamloops, British Columbia, sawmill worker, has been held in custody since he was arrested with Ripudaman Singh Malik on Oct 28. They were the first arrests made in connection with the bombing. Defence attorneys said during a court appearance Monday that they would ask for bail for Mr. Bagri and Mr. Malik, but they did not receive the materials they needed to make the bail application from the prosecution until Friday, said Mr. Bagri's attorney, Narindar Kang. Mr. Kang said he planned to ask the British Columbia Supreme Court to schedule a bail hearing for his client at the soonest date possible, likely next week. Mr. Malik's attorney was not immediately available for comment Friday. Prosecutors have declined to say if they would oppose letting the men go free on bail. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said again Friday they expected to make more arrests in the case. A third suspect was detained on Sunday but released after questioning with no charges filed. Mr. Bagri and Mr. Malik are charged with murder and conspiracy for destroying the Air-India Boeing 747 over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland and a related bombing that killed two luggage workers at Tokyo's Narita airport. Mr. Bagri is also charged with the 1988 attempted murder of a Vancouver-area Sikh journalist, Tara Singh Hayer. The bombings are thought to be the work of militants based in Vancouver in revenge for the Indian army's 1984 storming of the Golden Temple, the Sikh religion's holiest shrine. Source: Reuters News Agency November 3, 2000, Friday
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