'My father motivated me to become a pilot'

Son of the first flying officer of Kanishka plane says Indian and Canadian governments did little for the victims of the crash

His father's violent death had only fuelled his desire to take up flying as a career.
Capt Asham Singh Bhinder was just seven when he learnt about the death of his father Capt SS Bhinder in an explosion over Atlantic Ocean on board flight 182. Late Capt Bhinder was the first officer on the Indian Airlines plane when it exploded off Ireland on its way to New Delhi from Toronto on June 23, 1985.


Hi-flyer: Capt Asham Singh Bhinder was 7-years-old when his father
was killed in the Kanishka plane bombing on June 23, 1985

Anguished
Twenty-five years on Capt Asham Bhinder has mixed feelings about the incident that changed his life forever. "Neither the Canadian nor the Indian government did anything to assuage the wounds of the victims of that horrible crash that killed more than 300 people," he told MiD DAY.

Capt Bhinder, a pilot with Indian Airlines, lives in Gurgaon with his wife. His mother Amarjit Kaur Bhinder lives in Chandigarh. "I was only seven-year-old and my sister 10 when the incident took place. I was too young to understand those things. But as I grew up the memories of my father motivated me to become a pilot," Capt Bhinder said.u00a0

"Initially my mother was apprehensive but due to my passion, she gave up. Even my sister got married to a pilot," he said in a chat with MiD DAY.

Expressing his anguish over the attitude of both the Canadian and the Indian government, Capt Bhinder said: "The Canadian government had planned to hold memorial services every year. However, they were abandoned only after a year of the incident. The Indian government also did nothing but shifting blame on its Canadian counterpart. The only compensation we got was from Air India."

"The biggest loss was borne by my mother. She was given a job with Air India on compensatory grounds. She was in her mid 30s and doing a job was not so easy for a woman in those days," Capt Bhinder said. The Indian Airlines pilot is also crossed with the Canadian government over the way it handled the probe into the incident.

Goof ups
"Hundreds of wiretaps of the suspects were destroyed. Of the 210 wiretaps that were recorded during the months before and after the bombing, 156 were erased. These tapes were continued to be erased even after the terrorists had become the primary suspects in the bombing," he alleged.
Talwinder Singh Parmar and Inderjit Singh Reyat were arrested by the Canadian police on November 8, 1985 in connection with the bombings. Inderjit Singh Reyat, who was convicted of manslaughter in the bombings, remains the only suspect ever convicted of a role in the attacks. Other accused Ajab Singh Bagri and Ripudaman Singh Malik, besides Parmar were brought to trial, but never convicted.

Succour at last
Capt Bhinder, however, hailed the Canadian government's decision to apologise to the victims and pay them more compensation following the submission of the John Major Commission of Inquiry into the Kanishka bombing on June 17.
The probe panel had blasted the Canadian government for failing to stop the plot hatched by Khalistani elements seeking revenge for the 1984 army action at Amritsar's Golden Temple.
"It will at least help to alleviate the sufferings of the victims a bit. I am happy that at least the Canadian government has accepted responsibility for the incident," he said.

Mass murder
As many as 329 people were killed when a bomb went off on board Air India flight 182 after it departed from Montr ufffdal for London, en route to New Delhi and Bombay. Twenty-two, out of the total number of people killed, were crew members. Capt. Hanse Singh Narendra was the Commander and Capt. SS Bhinder the First Officer on the ill-fated plane. Only 131 bodies could be recovered as the plane crashed over Atlantic ocean off Ireland. An hour earlier, a bomb in the baggage intended for another Air India flight exploded at the Tokyo airport, killing two baggage handlers.
The bombing of the Air India plane is the largest case of mass murder in the Canadian history.

31,000 feet The altitude at which Air India flight 182 exploded over Atlantic Ocean
$130 millionu00a0Cost of the probe into the incident
20 years Time taken for completion of the probe