Air India plane crash: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) recently confirmed they have identified a key accomplice, dubbed “Mr X”, who helped test the bomb that destroyed Air India Flight 182, known as the Kanishka, over the Atlantic Ocean in 1985. However, they will not disclose his name, citing Canadian privacy laws.
What do we know about Mr X’s identity?
RCMP Assistant Commissioner David Teboul revealed the existence of the previously unidentified suspect during an event in Ireland ahead of the 40th anniversary of the attack. The tragedy killed all 329 people including 307 passengers and 22 crew when the bomb exploded onboard flight AI 182 on June 23, 1985.
Teboul told reporters that although investigators had successfully identified Mr X as one of the key conspirators who tested the explosive device, they cannot name him due to privacy protections, even though Mr X recently passed away without facing any charges.
Attack by Khalistani terrorists?
The mid-air bombing of Flight AI 182 remains one of the deadliest aviation terrorist incidents before 9/11. The Air India Boeing 747 had taken off from Montreal and was headed to Mumbai via London when a bomb detonated, scattering debris into the Atlantic Ocean off Ireland’s southwest coast.
The Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), a Khalistani extremist group, was suspected of orchestrating the attack. Its leader, Talwinder Singh Parmar, was previously implicated as the chief mastermind but was never tried for the bombing; he was killed by Indian police in Punjab in 1992.
How was Mr X identified?
According to Teboul, the breakthrough came as investigators continued pursuing the case even after two primary suspects were acquitted in 2005. New findings showed that Mr X had travelled with Parmar to Duncan, British Columbia, on June 4, 1985. They were also accompanied by Inderjit Singh Reyat, an electrician who pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges for his role in assembling the explosive device.
The trio went to a remote wooded area to test the bomb, all under surveillance by Canadian intelligence agents who heard the explosion but mistook it for a gunshot. Reyat later admitted he helped Parmar and Mr X but stated under oath that he never learned Mr X’s real name.
Despite the progress in identifying Mr X, no further legal action will follow due to his death. The RCMP noted that while the case uncovered significant new details about one of history’s most devastating terrorist plots, much remains unresolved.
As Canada, Ireland, and India prepare to mark the 40th anniversary of the tragedy this June 23, the lack of accountability continues to leave many of the victims’ relatives searching for closure.