VANCOUVER, 06 Apr 2004
CBC News
Retired Staff Sgt. John Schneider was in charge of
the RCMP task force investigating the Air India bombings in the fall
of 1997, when accused bomber Ripudaman Singh Malik and an employee had
a falling out. That incident led to the employee becoming the Crown's
star witness.
Bagri and Malik
The woman is now in the witness protection program and cannot be named.
She testified last November that she was in love with
Malik and said he admitted his involvement in the Air India bombing
plot and described details of the conspiracy.
Defence lawyer David Cross questioned Schneider about
his contact with the woman.
Schneider told the court he interviewed the woman shortly
after she was fired by Malik. He testified she told police about Malik's
financial dealings with a Sikh school and her concerns about licensing.
The court also heard police began monitoring Malik's
phone conversations in the fall of 1996 and installed a listening device
in his car.
Ajaib Singh Bagri and Malik are on trial, charged with
killing 331 people in two separate bombings on the same day in June,
1985. One bomb killed 329 people onboard Air India flight 182, most
of them Canadians. The other bomb killed two baggage handlers at Tokyo's
Narita Airport.
The trial continues.