By James Simon-
A man acquitted over the bombing of a 1985 Air India from Montreal to Mumbai has been killed in Canada, in what police believe was a targeted shooting.
The family of Ripudaman Singh Malik(pictured) confirmed the 70-year-old was shot and killed Thursday morning in front of his clothing import business.
Police were called to a Surrey, British Columbia neighborhood, following reports of gunfire. They found a man with a gunshot wound.
“The man was provided first aid by attending officers until emergency health services took over his care,” constable Sarbjit Sangha said in a news release. “The injured man succumbed to his injuries on scene.”
Police had initially withheld the dead man’s identity, but later confirmed it after Malik’s son, Jaspreet Malik, reported his father’s slaying in a statement on social media.
“The media will always refer to him as someone charged with the Air India bombing,” the son wrote on Facebook. “The media and RCMP never seemed to accept the court’s decision and I pray today’s tragedy is not related.”
A witness who works a car wash in Surrey said he heard shots Thursday morning and ran outside to find Malik unconscious in his car.
In a statement by Canadian police, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said: “We are aware of Mr. Malik’s background, though at this time we are still working to determine the motive. We can confirm that the shooting appears to be targeted and there is not believed to be any further risk to the public.”
Sgt. Timothy Pierotti said that because the shooting took place in a residential area, police were confident witnesses would be able to help solve the crime.
Police said shortly after the attack that a vehicle believed to be used in the shooting was found engulfed in fire a few blocks away.
In Malik’s trial, British Columbia Supreme Court heard that a suitcase bomb was loaded onto a plane at Vancouver’s airport and then transferred in Toronto to Air India Flight 182. The aircraft crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland, killing 329 passengers and crew.
About an hour later, a bomb destined for another Air India plane exploded prematurely at Tokyo’s Narita Airport, where two baggage handlers died.
Inderjit Singh Reyat, the only man convicted in the bombings, testified for the prosecution at Malik and Bagri’s trial and was later convicted of perjury.
In 1985, 329 people died when Air India flight 182 exploded off the coast of Ireland. It was due to stop over at Heathrow before going on to Delhi and eventually Mumbai.
The terror attack is the worst act of mass murder in Canadian history. Among the victims were 280 Canadians and 86 children. A second bomb targeting another plane killed two baggage handlers after it detonated at Tokyo’s Narita airport before it was loaded on to an Air India plane.
Crown prosecutors previously argued the bombing of Air India was masterminded by Sikh extremists in British Columbia as retaliation for the the Indian army’s raid of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Sikhism’s holiest shrine, in 1984 that killed hundreds of Sikh pilgrims.
Acquittals
In 2005, Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri were acquitted of mass murder and conspiracy charges in connection to the Air India bombing. A judge determined that two key witnesses used by the crown were unreliable. Following his acquittal, Malik unsuccessfully sued the government for C$9.2m, alleging the crown knew of deficiencies in its case but nonetheless pursued charges under pressure from the public.
Only one person was ever convicted for the bombing. Inderjit Singh Reyat served 30 years for lying during two trials, including Malik’s, and for his assistance in making the bombs in his Vancouver Island home. He was released in 2016.
Canadian authorities believe Talwinder Singh Parmar was the architect of the attack. He was shot and killed by Indian police in 1992.
Malik, who was formerly a supporter of the Sikh separatist Khalistan movement, has held leadership roles with a credit union and network of Khalsa schools.A man acquitted over the bombing of a 1985 Air India from Montreal to Mumbai has been killed in Canada, in what police believe was a targeted shooting.
The family of Ripudaman Singh Malik confirmed the 70-year-old was shot and killed on Thursday morning in front of his clothing import business. Police were called to a Surrey, British Columbia neighborhood following reports of gunfire. They found a man with a gunshot wound.
“The man was provided first aid by attending officers until emergency health services took over his care,” constable Sarbjit Sangha said in a news release. “The injured man succumbed to his injuries on scene.”
In 1985, 329 people died when Air India flight 182 exploded off the coast of Ireland. It was due to stop over at Heathrow before going on to Delhi and eventually Mumbai.
The terror attack is the worst act of mass murder in Canadian history. Among the victims were 280 Canadians and 86 children. A second bomb targeting another plane killed two baggage handlers after it detonated at Tokyo’s Narita airport before it was loaded on to an Air India plane.
Crown prosecutors previously argued the bombing of Air India was masterminded by Sikh extremists in British Columbia as retaliation for the the Indian army’s raid of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Sikhism’s holiest shrine, in 1984 that killed hundreds of Sikh pilgrims.
Malik had recently been back in the public spotlight after writing a letter in January to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing Malik’s “deep heartfelt gratitude” for helping Sikhs. The letter was published by the Hindustan Times.
In the letter, Malik thanked Modi for the “unprecedented positive steps” he has taken to help Sikhs, including “elimination of blacklists that restricted visit to India of thousands of Sikhs living abroad.”