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Bagri tried to unite terrorists: Witness
Vancouver, Dec 09: A key accused in the Air India bombing case tried to unite the Canadian and the British branches of Sikh terror outfit Babbar Khalsa, which has been linked to the 1985 bombings that killed 331 people, a trial witness testified.
Vancouver, Dec 09: A key accused in the Air India bombing case tried to unite the Canadian and the British branches of Sikh terror outfit Babbar Khalsa, which has been
linked to the 1985 bombings that killed 331 people, a trial witness testified.
Keith Weston, chief of Scotland Yard's anti-terror cell said Ajaib Singh Bagri wanted British and Canadian arms of the Babbar Khalsa to unite under the leadership of Talwinder Singh Parmar, the alleged mastermind behind the Air India bombing.
Weston, in his testimony to the British Columbia Supreme Court yesterday, said he had interviewed Bagri in 1985. In another testimony, a retired Canadian police officer Wilf Bells told the court that Bagri had mentioned about his hatred for Hindus during an interrogation about a fire incident at his house in 1985.
The officer told Court Bagri had said he hated Hindus and didn't want a Hindu translator present when bells had called him for questioning regarding the fire incident. However, Bagri's lawyer, during cross examination, told the court that bells had misunderstood his client as he was referring to a local Hindu man and not Hindus in general.
Bagri and co-accused Ripudaman Singh Malik are charged with murder and conspiracy in the deaths of 329 people aboard Air India's 'Kanishka' flight on June 23, 1985. About an hour earlier the same day, two baggage handlers were killed at Tokyo's Narita Airport after a suitcase exploded before it was to be loaded on to an Air India flight.
Bureau Report
Weston, in his testimony to the British Columbia Supreme Court yesterday, said he had interviewed Bagri in 1985. In another testimony, a retired Canadian police officer Wilf Bells told the court that Bagri had mentioned about his hatred for Hindus during an interrogation about a fire incident at his house in 1985.
The officer told Court Bagri had said he hated Hindus and didn't want a Hindu translator present when bells had called him for questioning regarding the fire incident. However, Bagri's lawyer, during cross examination, told the court that bells had misunderstood his client as he was referring to a local Hindu man and not Hindus in general.
Bagri and co-accused Ripudaman Singh Malik are charged with murder and conspiracy in the deaths of 329 people aboard Air India's 'Kanishka' flight on June 23, 1985. About an hour earlier the same day, two baggage handlers were killed at Tokyo's Narita Airport after a suitcase exploded before it was to be loaded on to an Air India flight.
Bureau Report