Convicted terrorist Inderjit Singh Reyat did everything possible to protect other conspirators involved in the Air-India bombing, including co-accused Ajaib Singh Bagri and Ripudaman Singh Malik, prosecutor Gordon Matei told a British Columbia court.
Reyat, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter last year after admitting a minor role in the bombing, was only willing to pin the terrorist attack on suspected mastermind Talwinder Singh Parmar because he was dead. But he refused to identify others in the plot, Matei told Justice Ian Bruce Josephson on Thursday.
Matei said much of Reyat's evidence 'must be rejected' because it is 'not only internally inconsistent but also defies logic and common sense'.
Reyat was convicted in 1991 of building the bomb that exploded at Tokyo's Narita airport on June 23, 1985, when the suitcase it was placed in was being transferred to an Air-India flight.
During his testimony, Reyat claimed Parmar asked him to build a bomb after Operation Bluestar, when army entered the Golden Temple in June 1984, to flush out militants. He had also claimed that Parmar's request had come before June 1984.
Matei suggested that it is simply unbelievable that Reyat could attempt to build a bomb for Parmar without asking the purpose it was meant for. He said the evidence points to a conspiracy masterminded by Parmar, which involved Reyat, the two other co-accused and others who have never been charged.
"The evidence proves that Parmar asked Reyat to build two bombs, and it was the intent of Parmar and other co-conspirators that the bombs be loaded onto two Air-India planes. Their intention was to destroy both the planes and kill all those on-board. Parmar received assistance in the conspiracy not only from Reyat, Malik and Bagri, but also from a number of other co-conspirators.
"Reyat's involvement in these offences was also demonstrated by the post-offence conduct of Malik, who, for many years, provided financial assistance of many thousands of dollars to Mrs Reyat," Matei was quoted as saying by Canadian daily The Vancouver Sun.
In all, 329 people were killed when the Air-India jetliner crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 23, 1985.
