Inderjit Singh Reyat, the lone person convicted for the 1985 Air India Kanishka bombing, has been released from prison after serving two decades behind bars in Canada. Air India Kanishka’s Flight 182 from Montreal to Delhi was blown off mid-air near the Irish coast on 23rd June 1985, killing all 329 people on board.
A spokesman for the Parole Board of Canada confirmed the statutory release of Reyat yesterday after serving two-thirds of a nine-year sentence for his involvement in one of the deadliest airline attacks in history.
A mechanic migrated from Punjab, Reyat bought the dynamite, detonators and batteries that took the lives of the passengers. In 1991, Reyat was convicted of manslaughter in the deaths of two baggage handlers at Tokyo. He served 10 years for that crime. He also got five years for another manslaughter charge in the Air India bombing.