Tuesday, September 26 2006 11:13 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Toronto: Emotional relatives of victims of the 1985 bombing of Air India airliner 'Kanishka' began deposing before a long-awaited inquiry which opened yesterday (Sept 265,2006) to look into Canada's failure to prosecute all those responsible for the tragedy.

"I expect the testimony will be emotional and I expect the testimony will be difficult," lead counsel Mark Freiman said in his opening statement before starting the hearing of families of the 329 people who perished when Kanishka crashed off the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985.

"It takes a great deal of courage to speak in a public forum about matters that reach into the innermost parts of one's being," Freiman said.

The first person to testify yesterday before the enquiry headed by former Supreme Court of Canada judge John Major was Bal Gupta, a Toronto-based engineer whose wife was on the doomed flight along with 279 other Canadian citizens, most of them of Indian origin.

Repeatedly pausing to wipe tears, Gupta described how he and his wife had been married for over 20 years and had two sons. He said there were many rumours at the time warning against travelling on Air India.

His wife bought a ticket on the doomed flight when a seat became available, while the rest of the family was to follow for one of their periodic visits to India two weeks later. Gupta said when he learned of the explosion through a friend who called at 5:30 a.m. the next day, his world was 'shattered.'

The belated inquiry into the bombing, ordered by the Conservative government, is in two parts. For the first 11 days, it will hear from relatives of the victims as also the Irish and British crews that recovered bodies and debris from the sea. In November, the inquiry will consider whether the Canadian government, investigators and prosecutors should have been able to stop, find and convict the perpetrators.

Freiman said he hoped the testimony of the relatives will show the human dimensions of this terrible event.

Only one person was convicted in the plot and the 19-month trial of the two main suspects-- Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri-- ended in March 2005 with their acquittal on all charges.

The victims' families have lobbied for years for a full-scale public inquiry into the bombing.

There have been court cases, studies and reports, mostly recently by former Ontario premier and current Liberal leadership contender Bob Rae, who recommended that the Canadian government hold a full-scale inquiry.

In May, Prime Minister Stephen Harper set the Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the Bombing of Air India Flight 182 headed by Major.

Major is expected to review previous reports on the bombing and is allowed to hold public and private hearings inside and outside the country.

The inquiry is expected to hear testimony until April, and Major is expected to file a report by September 2007.

Canadians will see, hear or read about these proceedings to understand the human dimensions of this terrible event," Freiman said in his opening remarks.