Canada cops in Punjab to crack Kanishka case

CHANDIGARH: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is in Punjab these days to crack the 1985 bombing of Air India's Kanishka aircraft, which caused the death of all 329 passengers aboard.A five-member team, which arrived here on Wednesday, called on Punjab DGP NPS Aulakh and CBI officials and listed 12 Punjab militants, whom they will be questioning in the next few days.Some of the listed persons, including those facing life term in the Beant Singh assassination case, are in prison. The Punjab police will make the others available for questioning later this week.On Wednesday, the Canadian team visited Burail jail in Chandigarh to interrogate Jagtar Singh Hawara and Paramjit Singh Bheora, who face the death sentence in the Beant Singh killing case. Both of them were teenagers when the Kanishka was bombed.The Canadian team, accompanied by CBI sleuths, questioned both militants about the Babbar Khalsa International, a militant organisation. The militants raised pro-Khalistan slogans before joining investigation.Sources said the team was interested in knowing their family background and the history of the Babbar Khalsa International. The main thrust, however, was on knowing the whereabouts of Sarwan Singh Gill, one of the main conspirators of the Kanishka bombing.Former British Columbia resident, Gill, was a close associate of Canada-based Babbar Talwinder Singh Parmar who was killed in an encounter in India. Gill, who was also arrested in the Kanishka case, jumped bail in 1996 and is believed to have fled to England. The Babbars were also asked to furnish details about their joining the group and their links with Canada-based Babbars. The Canadian police had in January asked security agencies here to help interview 12 'witnesses' who they pointed out could have information regarding the Kanishka bombing. The team comprises police officials James Stewart, Bart Balchford, Dan Bond, Dan Sandhar and Tuckey Shane.Those who would be interrogated by the RCMP include Harminder Singh Gandhi, Naudh Singh Thind, Jivan Singh, Mohan Singh Johal, Kanwaljit Singh, Sukhjinder Singh, Pratap Singh Gill, Satnam Singh, Bohar Singh and former top intelligence official Maloy Krishna Dhar. The RCMP opened investigation into the flight bombing even after a March 2005 verdict by the Supreme Court of British Columbia acquitted two suspects, Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, as "not guilty". The court had observed that the evidence against them had fallen short of conclusive proof. It is apparently an effort to collect more evidence in the case that the RCMP has come around for another round of investigation.

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