Families of Air India bombing victims say RCMP investigation is being shelved after 41 years
About 60 family members gathered in Toronto on September 12 to learn the RCMP has no further leads in the 1985 Air India Flight 182 case, where all 329 people on board were killed.
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Families of victims of Air India Flight 182 are expressing dismay after learning that the RCMP investigation into the 1985 bombing will go inactive.
On September 12, RCMP held a meeting in Toronto with about 40 to 50 family members present and roughly 20 connecting remotely. Police told attendees they have exhausted their leads and are winding down the case.
Sanjay Lazar lost his parents and sister on the flight. "They said that we don't have any more leads. We cannot pursue and we need to identify significant persons in this. And therefore we are going to start, well, winding down," he said. "You can't just abandon the whole investigation purely because you feel you've reached a dead end."
Rob Alexander, whose father died in the explosion, said families were "utterly shocked." He said: "We know it's been a long time, and things get exhausted and people die off and we get that. But to shelve the whole thing and make it inactive, it is a big slap in the face to the memories of the people that we lost."
Sudha Berry, whose 16-year-old brother Sharad was killed, sent a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney and several ministers and RCMP officials expressing the family's "utter dismay."
On June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182 took off from Toronto bound for Mumbai. A bomb concealed in a suitcase in the cargo hold exploded over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 people aboard—most of them Canadian citizens. Only one person has ever been convicted: Inderjit Singh Reyat, the bomb-maker, who was released in 2016 after serving a 30-year sentence. Two other men were tried and acquitted in 2005. One of the acquitted men, Ripudaman Singh Malik, was shot and killed in 2022. Another suspect was killed in India in 1992.
Will the RCMP reconsider the decision if new leads emerge?
What will happen to existing case files once the investigation becomes inactive?
We'll update this story as answers emerge.
The facts
How many people died in Air India Flight 182?
All 329 people on board Air India Flight 182 were killed when a bomb in the cargo hold exploded over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985.
When did the RCMP tell families it was winding down the investigation?
On September 12, 2026, the RCMP held a meeting in Toronto with approximately 40 to 50 family members in person and roughly 20 connecting remotely, informing them they had exhausted their leads and were winding down the case.
How many people have been convicted in connection with the bombing?
Only one person, Inderjit Singh Reyat (the bomb-maker), has been convicted. He was released in 2016 after serving a 30-year sentence.
