Thursday, December 15 2005 14:06 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Vancouver: Canada's corrections officials have applied to keep Inderjit Singh Reyat, the only person convicted for his role in the Air India bombing disaster that killed 329 people, in jail beyond his statutory release date next June.

Reyat pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the Kanishka bombing case and was sentenced in February 2003 to five years in jail. He is already eligible for day parole, but has not yet applied for it.

The former Duncan electrician, presently serving a sentence in an Ontario jail, was charged with conspiracy and murder along with millionaire businessman Ripudaman Singh Malik and mill worker Ajaib Singh Bagri, in the worst case of mass murder in Canada's history. The latter two were, however, acquitted in March.

He has been informed that the Corrections Service of Canada has recommended to the National Parole Board that he be detained beyond the two-thirds point of his sentence that most offenders serve, Canadian daily 'Vancouver Sun' said. That means a hearing must be scheduled within the next three months so parole-board adjudicators can decide whether to release Reyat or hold him longer. His full sentence ends in February 2008. The Corrections Service of Canada is part of the country's criminal justice system and contributes to the protection of society by actively encouraging and assisting offenders to become law-abiding citizens.

National Parole Board representative John Vandoremalen said he could not confirm anything regarding Reyat's case, due to privacy laws. "That is a decision the board has to make," he said from, Ottawa.