Kanishka report may slam cops

Toronto, Nov. 23: Much awaited public inquiry report, ordered by the Canadian Prime Minister, Mr Stephen Harper, on the deadly 1985 Kanishka bombing is expected to be highly critical of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canada’s top security officer has said.

“It is fair and reasonable given the problems plaguing the Canadian intelligence community at the time,” said Mr William Elliott, commissioner of RCMP and a noted legal professional.

“I think there were a lot of things that were a long way from ideal,” Canadian Press reported on Monday quoting Mr Elliott, former security adviser to the Prime Minister.

A Boeing 747 carrying 329 passengers, most of them Canadian, was en-route to New Delhi when it blew apart off the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985.

The attack killed mostly Indo-Canadians, including 82 children. In early 1985, Mr Rajiv Gandhi — the then PM — asked Canada and the United States to keep close tabs on Sikh militants who might pose a security threat in the wake of operation “Blue Star”.

Mr Brian Mulroney — Canada’s Prime Minister at the time — agreed to India’s request.

The police has long believed the Air India Flight 182 was destroyed by Sikh separatists who were against the operation “Blue Star”.