More Air India arrests may be made

THE investigation into the Air India crash is ongoing and arrests may yet be made, according to the man leading the hunt for terrorists who blew up flight 182, exactly 20 years ago today.

Assistant commissioner Gary Bass, head of the Canadian Air India Task Force, made the comments yesterday as he attended a ceremony in Anglesea Street garda station, Cork.

Two sikhs have been acquitted of the murder of 329 passengers when their plane blew up off the south-west coast, but another man is in custody.

“The investigation is still very active and it will go on as long as we have any substantial hope,” he said.

The assistant commissioner added that he wouldn’t rule out further arrests.

He said the emotion generated by the anniversary might prick the conscience of somebody who would give them a vital lead.

“It has happened before,” assistant commissioner Bass added.

Yesterday, along with a number of senior members of the Canadian police force and judiciary he presented a special plaque to gardaí as an expression of thanks for the co-operation they’d received. “The assistance we received was unparalleled in our history. It set the standard for all of us in dealing with victim services,” Assistant Commissioner Bass said.

He pointed out that gardaí set up systems for counselling relatives and brought in spiritual leaders to comfort them.

Garda Assistant Commissioner Adrian Culligan said that those who served in the force at the time would never forget the disaster.

“In total 131 bodies were recovered. There were 101 female and 30 male. A third of them were under 17. We can’t lose sight of the 198 people still unaccounted for,” he said.

It was pointed out that the last body to be identified, that of a girl, was done so by matching fingerprints from the wall of her home in Canada. All the bodies were returned to Canada, except for that of Anumuna Alexander who is buried in St Michael’s Cemetery, Blackrock. She lost all her relatives in the crash.

One of the last serving members of the force to deal with the tragedy was also at the function. Bishopstown-based Henry Black was appointed liaison officer for a number of the families.

Also in attendance were Chief Superintendent Kevin Ludlow, former Assistant Commissioner Joe Long, retired Chief Superintendent Dermot Dwyer and retired Superintendent PJ Brennan.