Special Report: Air India Flight 182 (Page- 3)

Over the Atlantic, Air India Flight 182 continued on its way to London, blissfully unaware of the events unfolding. All airlines, of course, are subject to the threat of sabotage, although some more than others, but most have implemented careful checks to safeguard against such a happening. Air India was no exception. Internal strife in the northern State of Punjab, brought about by extremist demands for a separate nation of Khalistan, had created civil unrest in India. The trouble came to a head in June 1984 in Arnritsar with the Indian Army's storming of the Golden Temple, the Sikhs' holiest of shrines. The result was a bloodbath. Sikhs throughout the world were horrified by such an act. In retaliation, the Indian prime minister, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards. Her death stunned the world and created a Hindu backlash, which resulted in Sikhs being massacred in the streets of New Delhi. Mrs Gandhi's successor as prime minister, her son Rajiv Gandhi, was no less at risk. Ona planned visit to Washington earlier in the summer of 1985 the FBI had foiled an assassination plot by Sikh terrorists. Two suspects wanted for questioning, Lal Singh and Ammand Singh, escaped capture. The proliferation of the name Singh, meaning 'the Lion', may have compounded the problems of detection, for all male Sikhs carry the name. As a result of the struggle in India, the Indian Government was not short of enemies and Sikh extremists posed a specific threat. Air India, as a long arm of the nation, was particularly vulnerable to terrorist attacks and was fully aware of the risks. Canada and the UK both contained the largest concentration of Sikhs outside India, and were subject to special precautions. Air India had implemented a security system which appeared effective, and passengers boarding Flights 181/2 in both Toronto and Montreal underwent strict security measures. Air India employed the services of local security companies who, together with the airline's own agents and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), subjected the passengers to a double security check. Metal detectors were used to screen for weapons and all hand baggage was searched. Suitcases were individually X-rayed and where suspicious items were uncovered a portable bomb 'sniffer' could be used to detect explosives. Three bags containing doubtful packages had been left behind in Montreal: later inspection revealed them to be safe. Only an iron, a radio and a hair dryer were found. Air Canada, as Air India's handling agent, used a recommended passenger numbering system which ensured that all who had checked in boarded the aircraft. The security system implemented by the Indian airline seemed a reasonable and adequate response to the risks.