Federal government still holding Air India bombing wreckage after 41 years

Families of victims from the June 23, 1985, Air India bombing are still waiting for the federal government to release aircraft wreckage stored in a British Columbia warehouse, more than four decades after the attack that killed all 329 passengers aboard the flight from Montreal to Delhi.

The Air India Flight 182 Victims Families Association formally requested access to the wreckage in June 2021. The RCMP then forwarded the request to the federal government in August 2022. The families say they have received no indication of when — or if — the material will be cleared for public display.

The wreckage remains in RCMP custody, though the Indian government owns it. The RCMP cited the ongoing investigation as the reason for holding it, though authorities believe Sikh extremists planted the bomb.

Deepak Khandelwal, whose two siblings died in the bombing, said the five-year wait has frustrated the families. "Every little thing we try to do, it seems like it's only because of the families pushing as the victims, and no one else cares," he said Friday.

The families have held informal discussions with museums including the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau and the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa about displaying selected pieces. No official agreements have been reached. A 2025 Angus Reid poll found half of Canadians surveyed believed Canada has never treated the bombing as a national tragedy, and one-third had never heard of it.

Global Affairs Canada deferred questions to the RCMP. A spokesman for the High Commissioner of India did not respond to requests for comment. In 2023, The Globe and Mail reported the RCMP had begun work with Ottawa and New Delhi to identify legal and diplomatic requirements for releasing the wreckage.