International   

'Kanishka case accused called for revenge against Hindus'

VANCOUVER Feb. 26 . One of the men charged in the case connected with the Air-India Kanishka bombing which killed 329 people had made highly inflammatory speeches calling for revenge against Hindus and the former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, according to pre-trial evidence allowed to be released.

A videotape of a speech made by the accused, Ajaib Singh Bagri, at the Madison Square Gardens in New York in July 1984 was released on Tuesday by the British Columbia Supreme Court after Justice Ian Bruce Josephson lifted a publication ban on the proceedings.

Prosecutors allege Bagri made the speech about a month after the Army action in the Golden Temple in Amritsar, where he proposed the creation of Khalistan and "spoke of the need for Sikhs to wage a war of independence under the leadership of Talwinder Singh Parmar, a founding member of the Babbar Khalsa," the judge wrote in his ruling. Bagri spoke of exacting revenge against the Indian Government and "punishing traitors to the cause of an independent Khalistan".

In another ruling released in March, Justice Josephson found that three statements made by Bagri to police in 1985 were admissible while a fourth made the same year was not. According to the police, Bagri had said "Hindus hate him and he hates Hindus," during investigations regarding a fire at his house three months before the Air-India plane was blown up off the Irish coast in 1985.

PTI

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• I will die rather than flee: Saddam
• Pak. claims NAM endorsed its stand on Kashmir
• 'Russian plan for Saddam exit'
• Blair headed for party 'revolt'
• Immunity for actions during anti-terror drive
• OIC to counter U.S. with oil?
• 'Kanishka case accused called for revenge against Hindus'
• Ravi Shankar denies rift with Norah Jones
• A shocking comparison
• Jamali urges India to give up 'stubbornness'
• Swiss court ruling against Benazir

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu