By R.PAUL DHILLONWith News FilesLINK EDITORAir India convict Inderjit Singh Reyat is appealing his nine-year perjury sentence.Reyat was gullible enough to be used by some people – who have been identified asdouble agents and the nefarious kind – to test some bomb-making material, which, bythe way, the RCMP-CSIS agents, who were following the so-called suspects, includingReyat, while they were supposedly testing some incendiary device on VancouverIsland, didn’t even retrieve the forensic evidence until after the bombs went off in theAir India plane and the one in Japan. If the agents had gone to get that evidence, itwould probably have been enough to charge these guys and in the process avert thedisaster that befell 331 people. It looks like either someone wanted these guys to carryout the bombing or the agents were so inept that they just didn’t care!
VANCOUVER — The RCMP dideverything in their power to break himand offered him many goodies to turnstate witness, but Air India convictInderjit Singh Reyat has stuck to hisbelief that he neither made the bombsand don’t know who did!He said as much in the plea bargain statementwhere he admitted his role in thewhole sordid Air India affair but mainstreammedia still likes to call him thebomb-maker even when they and policeknow that he was used by those whoallegedly carried out the attacks.Reyat was gullible enough to be used bysome people – who have been identifiedas double agents and the nefarious kind -to test some bomb-making material,which, by the way, the RCMP-CSISagents, who were following the so-calledsuspects, including Reyat, while they weresupposedly testing some incendiarydevice on Vancouver Island, didn’t evenretrieve the forensic evidence until afterthe bombs went off in the Air Indiaplane and the one in Japan.If the agents had gone to get that evidence,it would probably have beenenough to charge these guys and in theprocess avert the disaster that befell 331people. It looks like either someonewanted these guys to carry out the bombingor the agents were so inept that theyjust didn’t care!Not to discount Reyat’s involvement inthe crime but he has served more than 20years for a crime that amounts to testingsome incendiary device after beingmanipulated by others in the name of hisfaith. No conspiracy was ever provedagainst Reyat!So the RCMP and courts have madeReyat a scapegoat all because the investigatingagencies screwed up big time andtheir incompetence is clear if you havefollowed the trial and the investigation.The jailing of Reyat is simply to cover-upthe big Gaping Hole – which is that fortheir years of investigation and hundredsof millions of dollars spent – they haveZero to show as the real bombers remainunknown and supposedly continue towalk free!So because Reyat refuses to make-upstuff or tell lies to convict others, theycontinues to keep him in jail with one ofthe harshest perjury sentence ever givenin Canada. Reyat is appealing again aftera previous appeal of the perjury verdictwas unsuccessful.A lawyer for Reyat says his client isremorseful about the bombing and didn’tgain anything for lying during testimonyagainst his co-accused.For those reasons, Ian Donaldson toldthe B.C. Appeal Court that Reyat shouldget a six or seven year prison sentence,not the precedent-setting nine-year termhe received for perjury.Reyat was convicted of perjury in 2010for lying 19 times during the 2003 trial ofRipudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib SinghBagri, who were acquitted of murder andconspiracy charges in the June 1985 AirIndia bombing, reported Canadian Press.But Crown lawyer Len Doust says thenine-year sentence is appropriate becauseReyat was deliberately evasive about keyfacts such as who was involved in theplot, and Reyat behaved nothing like aremorseful man.Reyat pleaded guilty to manslaughter inthe first trial for supplying the bombparts and the Supreme Court of Canadarejected his appeal earlier this year on theperjury conviction.
