Canada moves to revamp Air India bomb inquiry

Vancouver (British Columbia), Mar 8: Canada's new Conservative Government took a first, tentative step on Tuesday (Mar 7, 2006) on its pledge to revamp the inquiry into the troubled Air India bombing investigation.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose Conservatives won the January 23 election, appointed retired Supreme Court Judge John Major to meet with the families of the 329 victims of Flight 182, which was destroyed in 1985 off the coast of Ireland.

Harper had promised during the election campaign to launch a full judicial review.

The former Liberal Government agreed in November to hold an inquiry into whether Ottawa could have prevented the attack and whether police and investigators had bungled the investigation into history's deadliest bombing of a civilian airliner.

The Liberal plan stopped short of a formal judicial review, and some of the victims' families complained it did not go far enough in addressing concerns such as financing in Canada for militant groups.

''Mr Major will consult with the families on what they believe would be the most expeditious process to address both their concerns and the outstanding questions,'' Harper's office said in a press release.

Major has met with former Ontario Premier Bob Rae, whose preliminary review of the Government's actions led to the inquiry. Rae had also been appointed to lead the inquiry, but his status now remains in doubt.

Air India Flight 182 was destroyed on June 23, 1985, killing all 329 people on the flight from Canada to India. A near-simultaneous attack aimed at a second Air India flight killed two Tokyo airport workers.

The attacks were believed to be the work of Canadian-based Sikh militants in revenge for India's storming of the Golden Temple in 1984.

Two Canadian-based Sikh activists were acquitted last year of murder charges. A third pleaded guilty to a reduced charge, but has since been charged with perjury for testifying during the trial that he did not know others in the conspiracy.

The trial revealed infighting between police and Canada's spy agency over the investigation of the bombing suspects, which may have led to the destruction of key evidence.

REUTERS