Vancouver, Dec 05: The translation of a speech in Punjabi by Ajaib Singh Bagri, one of the two prime accused in the Air India bombing case, was contested by the defence counsel who claimed it was not properly interpreted. Bagri's counsel, Mike Tammen, yesterday questioned Surjeet Kalsey's translation of the accused's fiery speech in New York's Madison Square on July 28, 1984, calling for revenge against the Indian government and Hindus in the wake of 'Operation Bluestar'.

In the videotaped speech, which was shown to the court on Wednesday, Bagri is seen calling for the death of 50,000 Hindus.

Tammen contended that the translator later made corrections to several versions of the transcript. He suggested Kalsey's translation of Bagri's speech was not accurate enough and questioned minute details of various words and phrases, prompting groans from Punjabi speakers in the public gallery, Canadian press reported.

Tammen earlier conceded Punjabi was not always easy to translate and depends on the context.

He said Kalsey was not able to accurately translate Bagri's words because Bagri was an uneducated man who was born in a rural part of Punjab and used imperfect grammar during his speech.

"No sir, the grammar is perfect and sounds like very (educated) words and phrases are used," Kalsey said. Kalsey may not have been able to understand Bagri's distinct Punjabi dialect because she was born in a different part of the state, Tammen suggested.

Bureau Report