On June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182, traveling from Canada to India via London, tragically exploded off the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 passengers and crew members, including 86 children. To honor the victims, the Indian Consulate General in Vancouver has organized a memorial service on June 23, 2024, at 6:30 PM at the Air India Memorial in Stanley Park’s Ceperley Playground. The consulate emphasized India’s dedication to fighting terrorism and urged the Indian diaspora in Vancouver to attend the event to show solidarity against terrorism.
Air India Flight 182 was destroyed by a bomb hidden in a suitcase, which exploded while the plane was en route from Canada to India. The suitcase was loaded onto the aircraft despite its owner not boarding the flight. Among the victims were 24 Indian nationals, with the majority of the 268 Canadian victims being of Indian descent. The bombing strained India-Canada relations, particularly due to former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s refusal to extradite Talwinder Singh Parmar, believed to be the mastermind behind the bombing, who had fled to Canada after being implicated in the killing of two police officers in Punjab in 1981.
Indian intelligence had warned Canadian authorities on June 1, 1985, about a potential terrorist attack on an Air India flight by Khalistani extremists, but the warning was allegedly ignored, leading to the bombing on June 23, 1985. Despite arrests made in connection to the bombing, including Talwinder Singh Parmar, most suspects were eventually released. Inderjit Singh Reyat was the only individual convicted, receiving a 15-year prison sentence.
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