Man acquitted of bombing Indian plane shot dead in Canada

A man acquitted in a bombing that killed 329 people aboard an Air India flight in 1985 has been killed in a possible targeted shooting, police and relatives have said.

Officials said on Thursday the victim was Ripudaman Singh Malik, who with co-defendant Ajaib Singh Bagri was found not guilty in March 2005 of murder and conspiracy in a pair of Air India bombings that killed 331 people on June 23, 1985.

Police had not initially released the dead man's identity, but 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, 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.

Traced back to Vancouver

The bombing of Air India Flight 182 off the coast of Ireland that killed all 329 passengers and crew had been the deadliest act of airborne terrorism prior to the September 11 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.

Both suitcase bombs were later traced back to Vancouver, home to a large Sikh immigrant population.

Inderjit Singh Reyat is the only person to have been convicted in the plot, for making the bombs and for lying at the trials of fellow militants, one of whom was Malik.

Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri were acquitted in 2005 in a verdict that prosecutors said would have been different if Reyat had told the truth on the stand.

Reyat was paroled in 2016 after serving two decades behind bars.

The attack took place during an Indian crackdown on Sikhs fighting for an independent homeland, and those behind it were reportedly seeking revenge for the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar by Indian troops.

The Canadian government also formally apologised in 2010 to families of the Air India victims, saying authorities failed to act on information that could have prevented the attack or catch those responsible.