The horror of the Air India 182 Kanishka tragedy never goes away. Even today, 41 years after the world’s worst Aviation bombing, the families of Air India 182 Kanishka have been shaken up by the suggestions of the RCMP, Canada, to wind down the investigations.
On 23rd June 1985, two bombs exploded: one at Narita Airport, killing 2 baggage handlers, and the other, 54 minutes later, over the Atlantic Ocean 90 miles out to sea from Cork, Ireland, killing all 329 people on board, which included 86 children under the age of 13 years.
Orphaned as a teenager, losing my entire family at 17, I began the struggle for justice and accountability over the next few decades. As families, we made the trek through tragedy to search for bodies in Cork, where I spent 25 days sifting through bodies and body parts in the makeshift morgue to identify our loved ones.
That trauma returned every anniversary, as no leads emerged. In June 1995, the Canadian government announced a reward of one million dollars for information leading to the arrest of the conspirators, but fear was so rife among Canadians that not a peep came in.
Delays And The Failed Trial
It took almost 18 years for the charges to be filed in 2000, only for a multi-million-dollar trial to be unable to convict the accused. Witness after witness had either been murdered (In RCMP protection, no less), had been intimidated beyond the pale, or had their kids’ lives threatened, and they all developed selective amnesia in the dock. The fact that most of the witnesses were named in “alphabets” – Ms.A, D, E, etc itself indicates the level of secrecy and the witness protection program that never seemed to work with Air India 182 and the Khalistanis.
After the failure of the $140 million trial, the public enquiry headed by retired Supreme Court Justice John C Major, was a breath of fresh air, with secrets of the RCMP and CSIS being exposed, their monumental blunders, the destruction of tape recorded surveillance, investigators watching Parmar and company testing the bomb in the woods of Duncan, the June 1st telex, the dual warnings in 1984 of the plot to bomb Air India, the visit of the US Secret service to Parmar’s residence in British Columbia just before the bombing and so many more redacted facts came to light.
Discriminatory Treatment
The discriminatory attitude of the Canadian system to the victims of the Air India bombing in 1985 was brutally exposed by Justice Major; even in matters of compensation, Indians were ignored, and Canadians of Indian origin offered much lower amounts than “westerners”. In an interview with me this week, retired Justice John C Major expressed his pain over the way Canada had looked at this tragedy in stark contrast to the people of color, vis-à-vis Canadians of Indian origin. Canada continued to treat it as an “Indian problem,” he said, and not a “Canadian tragedy.”
CSIS And RCMP Still Don’t Seem To Agree
That attitude became clearer this week, when the RCMP called families for a meeting in Toronto. During the meeting, the Canadian RCMP said it intended to wind down the Air India task force to zero investigative staff, leaving only administrative staff to return the personal effects, as it felt it had no further leads to pursue the investigation and bring the culprits to book.
This admission comes barely months after the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) made a public acknowledgment that Canada-based Khalistani extremists (CBKE) were responsible for the Air India flight 182 bombing on the 41st anniversary on June 23, 2026. So, whilst the left hand (CSIS) was admitting that Khalistani extremists (CBKE) bombed Air India Kanishka, the right hand (RCMP) said they had nothing further to look for?
The RCMP even went so far as to suggest that if families could provide fresh leads, they might be taken up! Imagine a modern national police force asking the victims’ families for leads in Canada’s largest mass murder? We recently saw what happened to the late Nancy Grewal and earlier to the late Tara Singh Hayer, in Canada, amongst others who were killed, and it does not inspire confidence in the Canadian police system.
In the interim, the RCMP informed us that it was communicating with the Indian government to release the wreckage and personal effects of the victims, suggesting that the government and the RCMP have thrown in the towel on the Air India 182 investigation.
The Indian government will be acutely aware that the Kanishka bombing is a fiercely sensitive subject in India, and Indians the world over will not accept summary closure of this hunt for the killers. We have written to Prime Minister Modi on his birthday, advising that we families will never accept such a summary closure. The victims’ families, Canadian people and the peace-loving people of the world will never let that happen.
How USA and Israel Deal With Terrorism
That this RCMP meeting should happen in the shadow of the 25th anniversary of 9-11 is tragic, especially considering that the second of the 1988 Lockerbie Criminal trials is about to begin in New York in fall 2026; it shows the continued insensitivity of the RCMP and the Canadian government to the Air India 182 Kanishka victims’ families.
The Canadian government, rather than give up the ghost of AI-182, needs to increase the reward and reissue it, appealing to all fair-minded Canadians to come forward with any leads or information.
Can anyone imagine the state of the world had the US thrown in the towel post 9-11 or post-Lockerbie and not hunted down Al-Qaeda and the Libyans? Or had Israel not hunted down Klaus Barbie or Franz Stangi, and found the perpetrators of those crimes, some of those hunts took more than 35-42 years.
The world has never forgotten or forgiven its barbaric killers, and hunted them, such as Klaus Barbie (38 years later); Franz Stangl (caught 22 years later); Joseph James DeAngelo (42 years later); Samuel Little (31 years later), amongst others, and justice must be pursued to the ends of the earth.
The AI-182 families have suffered the tragedy of the midair bombing, followed by institutionalized discrimination in Canada, erased and destroyed evidence; murdered witnesses; and delays of 20 years to even bring charges, which resulted in the failure to convict two of the accused in a trial in Vancouver.
Has the RCMP Run Out of Ideas?
The suggestion by the RCMP that they had done enough appears fallacious, disdainful, and should be treated with the contempt it deserves, as it mocks and gaslights the bereaved families once again. It has been nothing but a litany of missteps, mistakes, and failed actions that have caused families grief for over four decades.
That this comes at a time of the rise of Canada-based Khalistani terror-linked separatists in Canada and the rest of the Five Eyes countries shows that the RCMP has still not understood the impact of their actions on victims’ families and society as a whole.
If the current RCMP feels it is not in a position to handle further investigation in the matter, then perhaps the government must look elsewhere or find fresh investigators who can.
Interestingly, during the past week I spoke to some old RCMP hands who had handled the Air India case, Justice John Major and Ambassador Bob Rae, and CSIS persons, and none of them can even believe that this suggestion to shut down the investigation has even made the light of day at this time.
Where To Find Fresh Leads?
Lest we all forget, there was a long list of persons of interest, against whom no interrogation or questioning had taken place. When asked about the list of Persons of Interest, against whom no interrogation or questioning had taken place, they declined to comment on the “ongoing investigation”. Some former persons of interest have long since disappeared and no visible effort seems to have been made to reach out to them, other than by investigative journalists.
Many ask, “What is left to investigate in Air India 182?” At least two, maybe three, of the alleged conspirators are alive but silent. Mr. Bagri, Mr. Reyat, and Surjan Singh Gill can also provide many answers. Why has there been no national appeal for them to talk, backed by the Prime Minister of Canada? Why has there been no trial in the death of Tara Singh Hayer, when it is clear that the same group that carried out the aircraft bombing plot also killed Tara Singh Hayer to prevent him from testifying?
There are also persons such as Satnam Reyat, Balwant Bhandher, Kulwant Parmar, the entire outer circle of trust, who could guide or assist with information, in return for amnesty for them. Why not bring back Ms. E, encourage her to repeat her story, and convince them to spill the beans? We could smuggle in Ms. D in a hat and sunglasses to repeat her truthful testimony, which was disbelieved. There are also Satinderpal Gill, Pary Dulai and Aniljit Uppal, who should have no fear of speaking the truth to God, now that Mr. Malik has been murdered by some of the K-gangsters.
What are the RCMP and Canadian government doing with the unspent/unclaimed reward? Why hasn’t it been enhanced and reissued with a national appeal for information? 41 years is a long time for anyone to live with the secrets of the killings of 331 innocents; this could kick off a creative effort to loosen the suspects’ tongues or at least willing informants across the country.
Air India 182 Kanishka is the worst airline bombing in airline history to this day, having killed 331 souls in 2 blasts across the globe, and was the worst terror act in North America until 9-11.
Determined To Find The Killers
Twenty years ago, dissatisfied with the direction the criminal trial had taken, the undersigned, AICCA, the pilots, Indian families, and many Canadian families had sought individual and separate standing before the Justice John Major commission, and argued their issues separately.
That ultimately resulted in Justice Major’s orders and an attempt to set right the discrimination the families faced in matters of compensation, etc. It is therefore surprising that neither the government nor the RCMP has formally reached out to the other families who had legal & legitimate standing before the Crown inquiry.
Former PM Harper assured us families that Canada would follow the case to its logical end, treat everyone even-handedly (regardless of nationality, color, and creed), and find solutions. Then Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper assured that every step would be taken to ensure that the RCMP and CSIS find those responsible and see the case to its logical end, when PM Harper had invited some of the victims’ families (including my lawyers and Ms. S Rana and other families) to his office in Ottawa.
Victims Bill Of Rights
I pray and hope that Canada and the RCMP do not belittle the horrific nature of the Air India tragedy, ONCE AGAIN, by shutting it down prematurely. Suffice it to say that Canada is duty-bound to see the Air India 182 Kanishka investigation to its very conclusion, and bring justice to the 331 victims, their families, and the millions of Canadians and others across India and the world. We await the results of what has been Canada’s longest investigation. Surely we cannot have come this far only to give up? Or is that the level of efficiency of the existing investigative teams?
Victims of crime are globally assured of their legal rights, and similarly, the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights provides that support to the Air India victims. The CVBR, decisions under the Federal Courts Act, the RCMP Act, and the Justice John Major Commission recommendations support the investigation and the victims’ families.
We have appealed to the Prime Minister of India, the Prime Minister of Canada, the foreign ministers, the Attorney General of British Columbia, and the RCMP commissioner to ensure that the investigation is revived in all earnest and the killers are found.
Given the state of growing Khalistani and other extremism in Canada, North America, and the world, we owe it to future generations that the truth is made known, the investigations continue, a renewed push be made with an enhanced reward, and that stronger efforts be made by the Canadian policing and intelligence authorities to find the perpetrators, and ensure that such a travesty of justice does not recur and that this investigation is carried through to the very logical end or until all the players are no longer alive.
Sanjay Lazar
Sanjay Lazar is an Air India 182 Kanishka Victim family member, Chairman of the Kanishka foundation, and GS of AICCA. He is @Sjlazars on @x
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- Sanjay Lazar#molongui-disabled-link
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