Canada: India plans memorial for Air India ‘Kanishka’ victims in Toronto

India's Consulate General in Toronto reaffirms India's stance against terrorism, condemning its justification and glorification, while highlighting the Kanishka bombing as one of the worst acts of civil aviation terror.

Toronto: The Consulate General of India, Toronto on Wednesday (local time) announced to organise a memorial service for victims of the Air India ‘Kanishka’ flight bombing in Toronto on June 23 from 12-1 pm at South Lawns, Queen’s Park.

India has always been at the forefront of the fight against terrorism and opposed the justification and glorification of terrorism, India’s Consulate General in Toronto said, as it reminded the world of the Kanishka bombing and termed it “one of the most heinous acts of terror in civil aviation.”

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The Consulate General of India in Toronto said that an annual memorial service is being held at South Lawns, Queen’s Park, in Toronto to mark the 39th anniversary of the bombing of Air India flight 182 (Kanishka), which claimed the lives of 329 people, including 82 children.

In a statement shared on X, the Consulate General of India in Toronto stated, “India has always been at the forefront of the fight against terrorism and has opposed justification and glorification of terrorism. 23 June 2024 marks the 39th anniversary of the bombing of Air India flight 182 (Kanishka), which resulted in death of 329 innocent victims, including 86 children, and remains one of the most heinous acts of terror in civil aviation.”

“We have always stood firmly with the families of the victims. The annual memorial service is being held from 12-1 pm, 23 June 2024 at South Lawns, Queen’s Park, Toronto. This event is open for public participation. The solemnity of the occasion may be respected during the memorial service at all times,” it added.

On June 23, 1985, Air India 182 Kanishka flight, flying on Montreal, Canada-London, UK-Delhi, India route, exploded mid-air over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Ireland, due to “cowardly act of terror, carried out by Canada based Khalistani terrorists,” Indian High Commission in Ottawa had said in a press release in 2023.

The memorial service is being hosted by India amid strained ties with Canada over the issue of Khalistani terrorists. The ties between the two nations have been strained after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged in September last year that Indian agents were involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

India has dismissed the allegations, calling them “absurd and motivated.” Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India’s National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot and killed outside a Gurdwara in Surrey in June last year.

Earlier in May, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar once again denied receiving any evidence implicating Indian nationals’ involvement in the killing in Canada of India-designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Responding to media queries here, Jaishankar stated, “I also read that another arrest has been made. If that person is an Indian national, then usually by consular practice, you inform the government or the embassy of the country of origin. But beyond that, we have long maintained that if anything, any event in Canada, any violence in Canada, has any evidence or information which is relevant to be investigated in India, we are open to investigating it.”

He emphasised that while any Indian national’s arrest would usually prompt notification to the government or embassy, no specific evidence justifying investigation by Indian agencies has been received to date.

“But to date, we have never received anything which is specific and worthy of being pursued by our investigative agencies. And I’m not aware anything has changed in the last few days in that regard,” the External Affairs Minister said at a media interaction at a seminar on Indian Capital Markets ‘Roadmap for Viksit Bharat’ at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Mumbai.

He made the remarks after the Canadian police arrested a fourth suspect over his alleged involvement in the killing of Nijjar, CBC News reported. The accused was identified as Amandeep Singh (22).