An agent of the Canadian spy agency has linked prime accused in the Air India bombing case to several cases of alleged financial irregularities and forging of documents.
Complete coverage of the Kanishka bombing case
Nick Rowe, a Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) agent, told the British Columbia Supreme Court on Monday that the prosecution's star witness in the Air India bombing trial -- the woman who last week completed her testimony against prime accused Ripudaman Singh Malik -- had made the charges in 1997.
The charges included alleged tax and immigration fraud and alleged misuse of funds from the British Columbia Ministry of Education at a Sikh school in Surrey, which was run by Malik, Canadian media reported.
Rowe, under cross-examination, told the court the woman also made allegations regarding forgery of documents, which enabled teachers from India to work at the school.
Rowe said the witness told him that Malik collected a monthly fee from the students despite receiving funding from the provincial government.
The woman, who is covered under a witness protection programme, said that Malik was involved in tax irregularities, Rowe told the court.
The witness also told the CSIS agent that Malik often had meetings with people associated with Sikh militant groups.
Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri are charged with planning the June 1985 Kanishka bombing that killed 329 people, along with another bombing in Japan the same day that killed two baggage handlers.
