Air India trial jury abruptly dismissed
Written by on March 8th, 2010 in Latest News.
Inderjit Singh Reyat was supposed to go on trial Monday on charges of lying at the Air India bombing trial.
(Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)
The perjury trial of the only person ever convicted in the Air India bombing 25 years ago was suddenly delayed Monday just before it was to get underway in B.C. Supreme Court.
Justice Mark McEwan dismissed the jury before any evidence had been heard. Under the terms of a publication ban, the reason for the jury’s dismissal cannot be reported.
A new jury will be chosen at a later date.
The jury was chosen last week in a rigorous selection process the Crown attributed to the high-profile nature of the Air India case.
The jury pool consisted of about 150 people who waited several hours Wednesday before eight women and four men were finally chosen.
Inderjit Singh Reyat has been accused of lying 27 times at the trial of Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, who were acquitted in 2005 of first-degree murder and conspiracy for the bombing of Air India Flight 182.
The Crown alleges Reyat lied when claiming not to remember details of the 1985 bomb plot or the name of one of the men involved — prompting B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ian Josephson to call him “an unmitigated liar.”
‘Yes, time has passed, but a crime should not go unpunished.’—Bal Gupta, husband of Air India bombing victim Ramurthy Gupta
Reyat served more than 20 years for manslaughter and making the bombs used in the plot that is considered the largest mass murder in Canadian history.
Three hundred and twenty nine people died when the Air India flight exploded off the coast of Ireland. Among the victims were 280 Canadian citizens, mostly born in India or of Indian descent. Two baggage handlers at Japan’s Narita airport were also killed by a second bomb tied to the plot.
Bal Gupta, who lost his wife Ramurthy in the bombing, said he welcomes the start of the trial and rejects any notion Reyat’s perjury trial is too small, too late.
“It’s the right step.…Yes, time has passed, but a crime should not go unpunished,” said Gupta.
Reyat was let out on bail in July 2008 while awaiting trial on the perjury charges.
