VANCOUVER, November 8, 2004
CP

Attacks on Sikhs by the Indian government ignited a thirst for revenge in a Vancouver businessman that was so strong he didn't blink at blowing up children to get it, a Crown prosecutor said Monday.

Ripudaman Singh Malik was pushed over the edge in 1984 when Indian troops stormed one of Sikhism's most cherished shrines, Joe Bellows charged in closing arguments in the Air India bombing trial.

The soldiers killed hundreds of worshippers who were demanding a separate homeland.

Malik was living in Vancouver at the time and became obsessed with the creation of Khalistan, an independent state for his people, Bellows said.

In his pursuit of it, ``the death of one child means nothing. The death of 328 means nothing. What matters is Khalistan,'' Bellows said.

Malik set out to show the Indian government that Sikhs were powerful and would stop at nothing to gain independence, Bellows said.

The millionaire, along with Kamloops sawmill worker Ajaib Singh Bagri, is charged with conspiring with others to detonate bombs on two planes travelling on opposite sides of the world at the same time.

``He (Malik) wanted to send a message, `If we can do this, we can do anything. We will continue until you give us Khalistan,''' Bellows said.

One bomb downed Air India flight 182 on June 23, 1985, killing 329 people, mostly Canadians. The second bomb went off prematurely, the Crown charges, killing two baggage handlers in Tokyo.

Bellows said Malik's guilt in the plot is proved by four key pieces of evidence.

- Testimony by witnesses that Malik asked them to physically deliver bombs onto planes.

- His attempts to obstruct investigation into the Air India case and the Narita Airport bombing.

- Evidence of financial assistance to the man who admitted he helped make the explosives used in the attack.

- A detailed confession to an ex-employee who testified the two were in love.

Bellows began his closing argument by trying to bolster the credibility of the Crown witnesses.

The defence maintains the witnesses made up their stories, motivated by anger against Malik for his treatment of them in business deals and by the $1-million reward for information on the case.

One man who claimed Malik asked him to take bags to the airport had declared bankruptcy, but Bellows said that doesn't make the 73-year-old Vancouver man a liar.

``Would he run the risk of disgracing himself in the eyes of his family and impugning their reputation along with his own?'' Bellows asked the court.

He turned to a second witness who said Malik asked him to take suitcases to the airport.

The man testified that he didn't ask Malik directly what would be in the bags, but asked what would happen to his children if he carried out the request.

Malik allegedly told him he would be considered a martyr and that a Sikh god would take care of his children.

The man testified Malik cheated him out of hundreds of thousands of dollars when the two made a joint investment on a property. The defence boiled his evidence down to rabid revenge.

But Bellows noted the witness never made any secret of his feelings toward Malik and is pursuing litigation against him to recover cash he believes he is owed.

``Simply because a witness feels aggrieved against an accused does not mean that he is going to lie under oath,'' Bellows said.

The team of Crown prosecutors is going over the case in great detail in closing arguments, determined not to leave any questions in the mind of Justice Ian Josephson.

Malik's involvement will be the focus for rest of the week.