Hardeep Singh Puri Attends 40th Anniversary of Kanishka Bombing in Ireland

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri attended the memorial service at the Ahakista Memorial in Cork, Republic of Ireland, on 23 June 2025 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Air India Flight 182 (Kanishka).

An Air India plane, named Kanishkha, with flight number 182, took off from Montreal, Canada, on 23 June 1985 en route to Mumbai via London and Delhi. The plane was blown off mid-air over the Atlantic Ocean near the coast of Ireland at Akahista.

The bomb was planted by Canada based Khalistani terrorists and all 329 people on board were killed in the terror attack. 

Three countries represented at the Memorial Service  

The 40th anniversary memorial ceremony in Ahakista was attended by representatives from three countries: Ireland, India, and Canada.

The memorial service was led by Ireland's Prime Minister, Michael Martin, and attended by Hardeep Singh Puri and the Canadian Minister of Public Safety, Gary Anandasangaree.

The memorial service was also attended by the first responders and the victims' families.

Speaking on the occasion, Hardeep Singh Puri called for deeper collaboration between India and Canada in fighting the scourge of terrorism by intelligence sharing, counter-radicalisation and disruption of terror financing.

Kanishka Bombing 

The Khalisatni terrorist outfit Babar Khalsa was accused of masterminding the Kanishka bombing. Talwinder Singh Parmar, a founder member of the Babbar Khalsa was the mastermind of the attack. He carried out the attack with the help of the Canadian nationals who planted the bomb in the cargo of the plane when it was in Canada. 

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RMCP) investigated the crime, and in 2005, the court acquitted two of the accused.

Only British-Canadian national, Inderjit Singh Reyat, was convicted of assembling and planting the bomb.

Talwinder Singh Parmar was killed in an encounter with the Punjab Police in 1992.

The Kanishka bombing is considered to be the worst form of terror incident in Canada.