British Columbia’s Surrey — Canadian police reported that a man killed on Thursday was acquitted in the 1985 terrorist bombing of an Air India flight, which claimed 329 lives.
The victim, according to officials, was Ripudaman Singh Malik, who along with co-defendant Ajaib Singh Bagri was found not guilty in March 2005 of murder and conspiracy in connection with two Air India bombings on June 23, 1985, which resulted in the deaths of 331 persons.
After Malik’s son, Jaspreet Malik, reported his father’s killing in a statement on social media, police revealed the identify of the deceased.
The son claimed on Facebook that “the media would constantly refer to him as someone charged with the Air India bombing.” “I pray that today’s tragedy is unrelated to how the media and RCMP never appeared to accept the court’s ruling.”
On Thursday morning, a witness who works at a car wash in Surrey claimed he heard gunfire and raced outside to find Malik unconscious in his vehicle.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team issued a statement in which it stated: “We are aware of Mr. Malik’s background, but at this point we are still trying to ascertain the motive. We can report that the shooting appeared to be targeted, and no more risks to the public are thought to exist.
According to Sgt. Timothy Pierotti, police were sure that witnesses would be able to help them solve the crime because the shooting occurred in a residential area.
A few blocks away, a car thought to have been involved in the shooting was discovered completely consumed in flames, according to police shortly after the attack.
The British Columbia Supreme Court heard evidence in Malik’s trial that a suitcase bomb was carried into a plane at the Vancouver airport and then moved to Air India Flight 182 in Toronto. 329 passengers and crew members perished when the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland.
A bomb intended for another Air India plane blew up prematurely at Tokyo’s Narita Airport, killing two baggage handlers, about an hour later.
The sole person found guilty in connection with the bombs, Inderjit Singh Reyat, testified on behalf of the prosecution during Malik and Bagri’s trial and was later found guilty of perjury.
The shooting “just brings back all the horrific experiences we’d had to go through for the last 37 years,” Oakville, Ontario resident Deepak Khandelwal said.
When Chandra, 21, and Manju, 19, were killed on Flight 182, he was 17 years old.
He described it as “like a nightmare that never stops offering.”
