Air India Kanishka bombing: Canada identifies mysterious bomb-tester ‘Mr X’ after 40 years, but he died before facing justice
Almost four decades after the devastating Air India Flight 182 bombing, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have cracked a key piece of the puzzle identifying the elusive ‘Mr X,’ a man involved in testing the deadly bomb weeks before the attack that killed 329 people.
But in a frustrating twist for families seeking closure, authorities revealed that ‘Mr X’ died recently, never held accountable for his role.
The announcement came just ahead of the 40th anniversary of the June 23, 1985, bombing, the worst act of terror in Canadian history and a haunting reminder of Khalistani extremism. The attack, orchestrated by Khalistani terrorists, brought down the Montreal-to-Mumbai flight off Ireland’s coast, claiming the lives of hundreds, most of them Canadians of Indian origin.
RCMP Assistant Commissioner David Teboul, speaking at a memorial event attended by grieving families, confirmed ‘Mr X’s’ death but declined to disclose his name, citing privacy laws. Teboul, who leads federal policing in British Columbia, explained that despite key suspects being acquitted in 2005, investigators relentlessly pursued loose ends in the case.
Their efforts finally uncovered the identity of ‘Mr X,’ a man who had travelled with Babbar Khalsa leader Talwinder Singh Parmar to Duncan, British Columbia, on June 4, 1985. The duo met with Inderjit Singh Reyat — the only person ever convicted in the case and tested an explosive device in nearby woods, under the watch of Canadian intelligence agents.
Shockingly, although agents from Canada’s Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) heard the blast, they misinterpreted it as gunfire and failed to intervene, a misstep that haunts the case to this day.
While Parmar was killed by Punjab Police in 1992 and Reyat served time for bomb-making and perjury, ‘Mr X’ slipped through the cracks, his true identity under wraps until recently.
Teboul admitted the likelihood of fresh trials is slim but stressed Canada’s responsibility to honour the victims. “The Kanishka bombing remains the darkest chapter in Canada’s fight against terrorism,” he said, pledging that the RCMP will never let the tragedy fade from memory.
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