A groundbreaking new theory has emerged in one of aviation's most devastating and unresolved tragedies, the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182. The fresh perspective, presented by a legal representative for the victims' families, challenges the long-held belief that the event was a deliberate act of terror.
Speaking to 60 Minutes Australia, attorney Jonathan Levy proposed that the bombing, which claimed 329 lives, was not a premeditated mass murder but a catastrophically failed attempt by Canadian and Indian intelligence agencies to rescue a hostage from Sikh extremists.
The Botched Rescue Theory
Levy's hypothesis centres on the idea that intelligence operatives had placed a bomb on the plane in Tokyo, believing a Khalistani separatist leader was on board holding a hostage. The plan, he suggests, was to force an emergency landing at a remote airstrip where a rescue operation could be executed.
"The bomb was never supposed to go off on the airplane," Levy stated, asserting that the objective was to disable the aircraft, not destroy it. The theory implies a horrific miscalculation in the device's placement or timing, leading to the explosion over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland.
A Legacy of Grief and Unanswered Questions
For nearly four decades, the official narrative has pointed to Sikh extremists based in Canada seeking revenge on India for the storming of the Golden Temple. While one man was convicted in connection with the bombing, many families feel the full truth behind the plot and its masterminds has never been uncovered.
This new theory offers a radically different explanation for the motive, shifting blame from a purely terrorist act to a monumental intelligence failure. It raises profound questions about state involvement and accountability in the deadliest aviation terror attack before 9/11.
The pursuit of justice and closure for the 329 victims continues, with this latest development reopening old wounds and demanding a re-examination of the evidence that has puzzled investigators for 39 years.
