The 1985 bombing of an Air India plane in which 329 people died was a "heinous" crime that should be punished with the full force of the law, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman R.S. Jassal said Tuesday.
Jassal was reacting to the arrest and arraignment in Canada of two Sikh men charged with causing the Air India Flight 182 disaster off the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985.
"It was a heinous crime, and after a long investigation, some people have been arrested," Jassal said.
"We are against terrorism in all forms and we strongly believe those who have indulged in terrorism of any kind should face the full consequences of the law," he added.
Vancouver businessman Ripudaman Singh Malik, 53, and Ajaib Singh Bagri, 51, made a brief appearance in a British Columbia provincial court early Monday.
Judge Jane Godfrey ordered both men to be held in jail until their next court appearance on November 30.
On Friday, Malik and Bagri were arrested and charged with eight counts, including first-degree murder, in connection with the Air India bombing.
The charges come at the end of a 15-year investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) into the largest mass-murder case in Canadian history -- as the majority of the victims were Canadians -- and one of the world's worst incidents of air terrorism.
Police arrested a third suspect late Sunday in British Columbia, but did not immediate lay charges and would therefore not identify him. He is expected to make a court appearance this week -- NEW DELHI (AFP)
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