1985 Air India bombings - almost 40 years to exact revenge

Acquitted Air India bombing suspect shot dead



Ripudaman Singh Malik



July 15, 2022

A man, believed to be an acquitted suspect in the 1985 Air India bombings that killed 331 people was yesterday shot dead in Vancouver, Canada.

Ripudaman Singh Malik, known as a supporter of the Sikh separatist Khalistan movement was reportedly shot outside his clothing shop in the business district of the city.

Canadian police have not confirm the victim’s name, but said the man had suffered gunshot wounds and succumbed to his injuries at the scene in what appeared to be a targeted shooting.

The suspects’ vehicle was found on fire a few kilometres away where they were believed to have switched their getaway car after torching the first one.

The bombing of Air India Flight 182 off the coast of Ireland killed all 329 passengers and crew and was considered as the deadliest act of airborne terrorism prior to the Sept 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

It came as another bomb exploded at Japan’s Narita airport, killing two workers who were loading baggage onto an Air India flight.

The attack took place during an Indian crackdown on Sikhs fighting for an independent homeland, culminating with the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar by Indian troops in 1984.

Inderjit Singh Reyat, who was the only person convicted in the plot was imprisoned until 2016, while Malik and and another suspect, Ajaib Singh Bagri were acquitted in 2005.