One of the hitmen responsible for killing a man acquitted in the 1985 bombing of an Air India flight has been jailed for life in Canada.  

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Tanner Fox, 24, was convicted on Tuesday by a British Columbia Supreme Court judge, without the possibility of parole for 20 years. 

Both he and his accomplice, Jose Lopez pleaded guilty last October to the second-degree murder of Sikh businessman Ripudaman Singh Malik in 2022. 

Also read: Kanishka terror attack anniversary: India says justice awaited; Trudeau silent on perpetrators

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Lopez will be sentenced on Friday. 

They confessed that they were paid for killing Malik in a suburb of Vancouver in western Canada, however, they did not reveal who paid them to do so. 

Also read: Terrorism 'should never be tolerated': Jaishankar on 39th anniversary of Kanishka bombing

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Who is Tanner Fox?

Tanner Fox, 24, based in Thailand, was adopted when he was three years old by a couple residing in Abbotsford, British Columbia.

Reportedly, he apologised for his actions, saying, "I am sorry for all the pain and hurt that I have caused."

Also read: Kanishka bombing 1985 investigation 'active and ongoing': Canadian police 

The prosecutor said that Fox and Lopez planned a "deliberate killing" of Malik. 

"They were financially compensated for killing him," the prosecutor said, according to a report by BBC.

Know about Kanishka Bombing

Air India Flight 182, travelling from Canada to India, blew up off the Irish Coast on June 23, 1985, killing all 329 people on board. 

The jet disintegrated in midair just 45 minutes from its destination. 

The aircraft operating the flight was a Boeing 747-237B registered VT-EFO and named Emperor Kanishka.

It was considered the deadliest aviation terrorism incident until the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US. 

On the flight, most of the passengers were Canadians who were visiting relatives in India. 

At the same time, another bomb exploded in Japan, killing two baggage handlers. The Air Indian bombing is believed to have been carried out by Khalistani extremists in retaliation for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India. 

(With inputs from agencies)