Inderjit Singh Reyat, the only man convicted in the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182 walks free in Canada. He was granted parole, after spending two decades behind bars.
Bollywood film ‘Neerja’ was about the Pan Am flight 73 hijacking; Bollywood filmmakers can now consider another incident which they can turn into a movie – Air India Flight 182 bombing.
As per Wikipedia, the Air India Flight 182 bombing was the first ever bombing of a 747 jumbo jet, and was the deadliest terrorist attack (329 people were killed) involving an airplane until the September 11, 2001, attacks. The bomb went off when the aircraft was at an altitude of 31,000 feet (9,400 m) and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.
Inderjit Singh Reyat, an Indian immigrant in Canada and member of an extremist group fighting for an independent Sikh homeland in India, was the main bomb maker in the terrorist act; he was convicted of building two bombs that were placed on flights departing Vancouver on June 23, 1985.
- One bomb was hidden in a suitcase on Air India Flight 182, which exploded mid-flight, killing all the 329 people on board.
- The second bomb detonated at Japan’s Narita airport. However, in this case, the casualties were much fewer – two baggage handlers.
Investigators say that the terrorists were aiming for a double bombing. However, the bomb at Narita exploded before it could be loaded onto the plane.
Watch: Air Crash Investigation (Documentary). Had the luggage checker checked the bag again, may be things would have been different. Perhaps, the guys at Japan’s Narita airport did a better job, compared to the guys at Toronto?
Reyat was found guilty in Canada’s worst mass murder. Two others were acquitted, but that happened because Reyat lied in court to protect them, per AFP.
Since Reyat was released into a halfway house last January, there has been no sign of contact with extremists or his co-accused, a Parole Board of Canada rep said Wednesday in explaining its decision to allow Reyat to “go back to a normal life.”
However, a 2013 psychologist’s report says that Reyat showed “a lack of true empathy and remorse” for his actions, which has left many dumbfounded by his release.
“You have to wonder what the parole board is smoking,” said one terrorism expert.
Reyat will remain under close observation for some time, reports the Globe and Mail.
What do you guys think? Will any Indian filmmaker make a film on this one (or has it already been made in any regional film)? Please let us know here.
