VANCOUVER, August 16, 2004
The Canadian PresS

The former roommate of a star witness against an accused Air India bomber said Monday he'd never heard of Ajaib Singh Bagri or his alleged confession to the deadliest terrorist attack in Canadian history.

As an illegal alien in New York, Balbir Singh Gharala lived in an apartment with several Sikh men in their 20s, including an FBI informant named John who cannot be identified by court order.

John had testified a grinning Bagri told him "We did this'' outside a New Jersey gas station a few weeks after the June 23, 1985 bombings that killed 331 people.

But Gharala testified in B.C. Supreme Court Monday that John never came back to the apartment with news about the supposed confession.

"Did you ever hear anyone talk about Ajaib Singh Bagri?'' asked defence lawyer Michael Tammen.

"No sir. Never,'' replied Gharala.

"Have you ever met Ajaib Singh Bagri?'' Tammen asked.

"No sir.''

Gharala also testified he never lent his car to roommates, although John said he'd used the car to drive to the gas station and meet with Bagri.

All six men living in the New York apartment were illigal immigrants and before the Air India bombing their home was raided by the FBI.

"They said 'We need to see everybody's identification,''' Gharala told the court.

"(John) talked to them, then they left.''

John had testified he'd "swung a deal'' with one of the officers to be an informant on Sikh matters in exchange for having his immigration problems disappear.

He ended up pocketing $460,000 from the RCMP for his testimony at the Air India trial.

Bagri and Ripudaman Singh Malik are charged with eight counts including conspiracy and murder in the attacks.

A bomb hidden in a suitcase killed two baggage handlers in a Tokyo airport. A second bomb blew apart Air India flight 182 off the coast of Ireland, killing the 329 people aboard.

The Crown alleges the bombings were to avenge the Indian government's bloody crackdown on Sikh extremists, including a raid on the Golden Temple in Amristsar, Sikhism's holiest shrine.

A couple months after the bombings, Gharala moved to Baltimore where he now owns and operates a liquor store.

He admitted to lying to immigration officials when he got his U.S. citizenship in 1994. He said he's being paid $500 a day to testify to compensate lost business, although his wife and brother are keeping his liquor store open.

The defence is expected to wrap up its case by summer's end and the trial, which began in February 2003, is expected to pause to allow both sides to prepare final submissions.