(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) The bombing of Air India Flight 182 € the worst terrorism act in Canadian history € is being remembered Tuesday, 30 years after the bombing that blew the plane out of the sky.
Justice Minister Peter MacKay and other dignitaries joined families of the deceased who gathered in Ireland for a remembrance service for the 329 who were killed. The flight was heading to New Delhi from Toronto via London from when the plane went down June 23, 1985 off the West Cork Irish coast.
Authorities believe the act was the work of Sikh extremists fighting to achieve an independent homeland. The chief suspect, Talwinder Singh Parmar, died in 1992 and, in 2003, Inderjit Singh Reyat pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Two years later, another Canadian court found Ajaib Singh Bagri and Ripudaman Singh Malik, not guilty.
But Canadian authorities have not given hope of finding conspirators € three decades after the fact the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said the investigation is "active and ongoing".
"Over the last 30 years, the Air India investigation is the longest and certainly one of the most complex domestic terrorism investigations that the RCMP has undertaken in the history of the Canadian judiciary," RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Annie Linteau told the Canadian Press wire service.
A "dedicated team" of RCMP officers remain focused on the bombing, which brought down the Boeing 747, killing 82 children under the age of 13. In all, 280 of the victims were Canadians, 27 British citizens and 22 were Indians, the Irish Times newspaper reported.
"We have continuously worked with various international police agencies in Europe, Asia and North America, who have been extremely co-operative," Linteau said.
The RCMP and other authorities are also investigating a baggage explosion at Narita airport in Japan that killed two people, also on June 23, 1985.
That was also an Air India flight and authorities believe the bomb exploded early, killing two baggage handlers. The RCMP believes the two bombings to be related.
A 2010 federal inquiry into the Air India bombing recommended changes in intelligence handling, criminal prosecutions and aviation security to prevent a similar attack.
Remembrance services were also held in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver.
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