FORTY years ago, 331 people – most of whom were Canadian citizens – lost their lives in the deadliest terrorist attack in Canadian history. On June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182 departed from Canada en route to India exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 passengers and crew.
Around the same time, on board a second aircraft that had departed Canada, a suitcase transiting through Japan’s Narita Airport exploded, killing two baggage handlers.
The terrorist attack on Air India is a deeply human story of loss, resilience, and the long road toward justice. For the RCMP, it was a turning point: a call to evolve, to adapt, and to never forget.
Dr. Bal Gupta, Coordinator and Chair of the Air India Victims’ Families Association, lost his wife, Ramwati Gupta, on Flight 182. He recalls how he first learned something unimaginable had happened to the aircraft she was on.
“At about 5:30 in the morning my phone rang and it was a close friend of mine asking if Ramwati had taken her flight. He told me to listen to the radio, so I turned it on. The news said the Canadian Flight 182 had disappeared off the coast of Ireland it was believed to have crashed and they did not expect any survivors,” he recounts.
Within a few days, Dr. Gupta and his then-12-year-old son Susheel Gupta travelled to Cork, Ireland, where they were met by other Air India families who had gathered waiting to hear word of their loved ones. From the hospital staff who provided the families space to grieve and supported them in identifying their deceased relatives, the hotels who accommodated them, and the community members who provided meals – the families were mainly supported by the people of County Cork and they are forever grateful.
“The Gardai (Irish police) responded with sympathy as the same person was with you from beginning to end every day so there was some continuity and we were not facing any strangers,” Dr. Gupta said about the support they received. “They collected many doctors from Indian origin from different cities in Ireland to work and talk to us. Every day one of the wives went to all the places the families were staying, taking requests for food. I don’t know how she managed.”
Following the bombing of Flight 182, the RCMP in collaboration with partners, launched a massive investigation.
Hundreds of police officers were assigned to the file, conducting extensive surveillance, reviewing photos and hours of videos from the crash site, reconstructing the aircraft, and interviewing hundreds of witnesses. Investigators travelled thousands of kilometers and to numerous countries throughout the years completing tasks, and following up on information leading them to India, Europe, and Asia.
The investigation remains one of the largest and most complex in Canadian history and it exposed major gaps in intelligence-sharing, inter-agency coordination, and the way we support victim’s families.
Dr. Gupta’s son, Susheel Gupta, became a lawyer and is now the Senior Strategic Operations Director within the RCMP Federal Policing National Security Program.
He says the relationship between the RCMP and the victims’ families was difficult, especially at the outset.
“There was no relationship. We weren’t getting any information,” Susheel Gupta said. “Much of the focus for the victims’ families in the time after the bombing was wanting to know what happened, also wanting justice. To be given the opportunity to ask, ‘are people going to be charged?’ A large focus of many of the families was okay, we’ve lost our loved ones and they’re not coming back. To ask, where were the failures? What can we do to prevent this?”
In the months that followed the tragedy, the Air India Victim’s Families Association (AIVFA) was formed and it continues to play a pivotal role in advocating for justice, remembrance and police reforms related to terrorism.
“Our national security framework was ultimately changed because of this tragedy and because of families who never gave up,” Gupta said. “I don’t want any Canadian to have to go through this the way we did.”
As Canadians reflect on the 40-year anniversary of the Air India bombing, the RCMP recently spoke with several people impacted by the tragedy.
Susheel Gupta (age 10) with his mother Ramwati Gupta in 1982 in Waterloo, Ontario. Ramwati was 37 years old when she was killed on Flight 182. Photo provided by Susheel Gupta.
Dr. Bal Gupta
Dr. Bal Gupta lost his wife, Ramwati Gupta, on Flight 182. He is the Coordinator and Chair of the Air India Victims’ Families Association.
Q: How was the Air India Victims’ Families Association founded?
A: They had collected maybe 30-40 family’s names and held some meetings in downtown Toronto. We were emotionally distraught and slowly, I think the families started meeting together. In those days there was no internet so we made more or less a phone chain and about six or eight or ten people would say ‘okay, you have ten names, you call these and another person would call other ten names.’ This way we kept the information alive.
Photograph of the Khandelwal family taken in 1985. Top row (L-R) Ramji Khandelwal and Deepak Khandelwal. Bottom row (L-R): Chandra Khandelwal, Vimla Khandelwal, and Manju Khandelwal. Deepak Khandelwal was only 17 years old when his sisters Chandra (21) and Manju (19) were killed on Flight 182.
Deepak Khandelwal
Deepak Khandelwal lost his two sisters, Chandra and Manju, on Flight 182 and is a Director with the Air India Victims’ Families Association.
Q: How has your relationship with investigators changed over the years?
A: Our relationship probably got better through the trial, at least from my point of view and I would say in the last five years in particular. They have been great as they set up this group to return victims’ belongings. The team did an incredible job, contacting the people who they thought the belongings were from and then working with the families to carry out their wishes. The team has also been providing monthly updates and has been working with Global Affairs Canada on the wreckage. The families hope to display it in a museum somewhere, at least parts of it.
Q: A 2023 Angus Reid poll indicated that many Canadians have little to no knowledge of the Air India attack. What do you want Canadians to know about Air India Flight 182?
A: The thing that frustrates the families is that nobody seems to really know about this. This is the largest bombing ever in Canada. The largest, biggest terrorist, aviation terrorism event other than 9/11. The largest mass murder in Canadian history, but Canadians just don’t know about it. It was really powerful to have Angus Reid actually do the surveys. We actually had some facts that Canadians know very little about it.
Deputy Commissioner Gary Bass (retired)
Gary Bass retired as the RCMP Deputy Commissioner of Canada-West. He was the Officer in Charge of the RCMP E Division Major Crime Unit in 1995 when he began leading the investigation.
Q: What were some of the challenges with this investigation?
A: The biggest challenge we had right from the start was getting acquainted with the victim’s families. There were no victim services supports back in 1985. One of the big complaints from victims’ families were that they were not getting any updates. It was through Bal Gupta that we started setting up a series of briefings two to three times a year. We would go to Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Manitoba and Vancouver and just bring in as many people who wanted to come and to tell them exactly what we were doing. It took time, but eventually I think we gained the trust of the family members.
Q: How did the investigation affect you personally?
A: Well, you think about it all the time, of course. It doesn’t matter if it is a single homicide or in this case 331 who were killed, it is a type of investigation you never give up on, and you always try to see if there’s something else that can be done. I am incredibly proud of all of the RCMP officers and support staff who worked on this investigation from 1985 onward. This applies equally to the many men and women from other agencies, in Canada and abroad who assisted our efforts. I am equally grateful and proud of the work by the BC Prosecution Service, led by Bob Wright. I know that each and every one of them gave their all, over many years.
Honouring those lost, 40 years later
June 23, 2025 solemnly marks the 40th Anniversary of the bombing of Air India as well as it is the 20th Anniversary of the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism.
Memorial services will be held across Canada and internationally to honour the victims.
“RCMP officers will be attending the national memorials sites as well as the memorial in Ahakista, Ireland, to pay our respects the victims and their families, and show our appreciation for all those that did so much to respond to and investigate the tragedy,” said Assistant Commissioner David Teboul, Regional Commander with Federal Policing – Pacific Region. “We encourage members of the public to do the same in private or at the memorials in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa.”
On this 40th anniversary, the RCMP reaffirms its commitment to ensuring that the Air India tragedy, and its lessons are never forgotten.
(WRITE-UP AND PHOTOS: RCMP)
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