RCMP declared the Air India 182 investigation closed in Canada this week, following 331 murders in 1985.
The force said it has exhausted all investigative avenues and may reduce the task force, effectively making the file inactive. It added that it stands ready to advance any new information that may emerge.
Earlier, Justice John C. Major’s inquiry had urged investigators to pursue every lead, noting that many were mishandled or ignored. The 1995 revival of the case was largely a re‑examination of RCMP files, revealing that some aspects had not been fully explored.
Key figures remain at the center of unresolved questions. Ajaib Singh Bagri was acquitted in 2005, but the trial highlighted a conspiracy involving Talwinder Singh Parmar and the deployment of bombs. Inderjit Singh Reyat was convicted of manslaughter and later of perjury, yet he has not fully disclosed his knowledge or that of others, including a mysterious ‘Mr. X’. Surjan Singh Gill, a self‑styled consul‑general of Khalistan, was named in the inquiry but never charged, and his whereabouts are still unclear.
Critics argue that the RCMP has not re‑interviewed surviving suspects or offered protection to witnesses, a gap that could allow new evidence to remain hidden. They call for an independent cold‑case team to re‑test the conclusions drawn by the force and CSIS.
The RCMP has announced that it will make the file inactive if no new evidence arises, and it has promised to disclose the full investigative history by the end of July.