New Delhi: According to the big news coming from Canada, businessman and Sikh leader Ripudaman Singh Malik, who was acquitted in the Air India bomb blast case, died in Vancouver here late Thursday. The night has been shot and killed. According to reports, Ripudaman was on his way back home from his office when he was murdered.
Let us tell you that in January 2022 this year, Ripudaman praised PM Modi and also expressed his gratitude to the Modi government for the steps taken for the Sikh community. He wrote in his letter sent that “Your government has taken many such steps for the Sikh community, which cannot be given an example. I am deeply thankful to you for your unprecedented and positive steps. I don’t have words to express my gratitude to you.”
It is also reported that Sikh leader Ripudaman Singh Malik was busy advising Sikhs and Punjabis of Indian origin living in Canada to stay away from separatist leaders. However, before this Ripudaman Singh himself was also a strong supporter of Khalistan. But then over time, his ideology got separated from Khalistan and now it is probably the reason for his death.
It is worth noting that his name cropped up in the 1985 Air India bombings. After which the Indian government also put him on the black list. But he was acquitted in the case in 2005 due to a lack of evidence. It is to be known that in this horrific plane crash, all 331 passengers aboard the plane including the crew were killed. Know that this plane took its flight from Canada to Delhi.
Who is Ripudaman Singh Malik?
Malik migrated from Punjab to Canada in 1972. He started off as a cab driver and started earning his livelihood as a cab driver.
Malik was arrested along with Ajaib Singh Bagri and Inderjeet Singh Reyat as the main accused in the blowing up of Air India Flight 182 at an altitude of 31,000 feet over Irish airspace. All 329 passengers on board the Boeing 747 aircraft from Montreal to Delhi were killed.
A separate blast at Narita airport in Tokyo killed two Japanese nationals who were loading baggage onto an Air India flight.
Investigations pointed toward the role of Sikh separatists based in Canada in retaliation for Operation Blue Star of 1984, executed by Indian troops in the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Reyat was convicted and awarded a 10-year sentence in the Narita case. He got an additional five years for his role in the Air India bombing. Malik and Bagri were acquitted since Reyat told the court that he could not remember the names of those involved. Prosecutors, who believed that he had links with the terrorist organization Babbar Khalsa, had then said that the duo would not have gone scot-free had Reyat told the truth in court.
He was in jail for four years before being acquitted. After being acquitted, Malik sought compensation of $9.2 million from the Canadian government. However, the demand was rejected by a British Columbia judge.
Malik was banned from entering for over a decade. Based on the request by Sikh organizations, the Narendra Modi government gave him a single entry visa in 2020. He was again granted a visa in May this year to visit India, during which he made a pilgrimage to Delhi, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
