The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, December 3, 2015 | 10 Air India tragedy a family crisis that inspired his career by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver echoes in my ears today," said Gupta. His mom was using his ticket He said his mother was travelling that day using his plane ticket, which he switched with her weeks before, so he could attend his Grade 7 graduation. The original plan for Gupta's family was for him to fly to India a few weeks before the ceremony to spend extra time with his grandparents, cousins and other relatives, while his parents would go there later that summer. "My mom was travelling on my plane ticket. I pondered, questioned and cried, thinking to myself for years, `It should have been me on that plane and not my mom,'" said Gupta. "To this day, I still ask myself all those questions. I suffered from what professionals would call survivor's guilt, some form of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) for a number of years." He said some positivity arose as a result of the plane crash, as first-responders, police officers and residents of Ireland came together and "really focused" on wanting to take care of the victims' families. "About a thousand people from around the world gathered in Ireland after the plane crash. All the people in Ireland really focused on our needs. I have a fond memory of how they treated all of us," said Gupta. see Justice on p.11 Susheel Gupta was only 12 years old when his mother died in the bombing of Air India Flight 182 in 1985 -- considered to be the largest mass murder in Canadian history. On Wednesday, Nov. 25, the vice-chair of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) and former federal prosecutor, shared the story of the incident at Oakville's Abbey Park High School (APHS), noting how it led him to become a lawyer. Air India disaster led him into law Gupta was the keynote speaker at the APHS Legal Eagles' third annual Youth in Law and Justice Evening, which also featured a questionand-answer panel session with Gupta and three others from various law-related professions. Other panelists included: Halton Regional Police Deputy Chief Carol Crowe, Marcia Oliver, a Wilfrid Laurier University law and society assistant professor and lawyer Nicholas Fur. The Legal Eagles started three years ago with the help of former students Kristi Meta and Jude Haj Ali, and is a year-round, extracurricular, 30-member group that runs weekly meetings to debate current events and work on multiple projects. On June 23, 1985, a detonation on Air India Susheel Gupta, vice-chair of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) was 12 when his mother, travelling on his ticket as he stayed home to prepare for his Grade 7 graduation, lost her life in the 1985 Air India tragedy. The crisis that profoundly affected him and his family, inspired Gupta's career path. | photo by Justin Greaves ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) Flight 182 caused the plane to crash into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland. The plane was en route to New Delhi from Montreal and the blast killed all 329 passengers, mostly Canadians, including Gupta's mother. "I woke up to the sound of our home phone ringing at about 6:35 a.m. Within minutes, my father told my big brother and I that our mother was gone. Her plane crashed and she was dead. The sound of my father's pain still BreAKfAst With sAntA saturday, December 12th at 11 am reservations only - call now! · Breakfast Buffet · Picture with Santa · Gingerbread Cookie Decorating Adults $15 · Kids 6-12 yrs $10 · Kids 5 and under $5 Saturday Nights Live Entertainment This week featuring: Mike Barton Blues Band 231 Oak Park Blvd, Oakville Dundas St. Oak Park k Bl Blvd. d. Trafalgar Rd Oak Park Blvd ABBEY ARMS GlEn ABBEY'S OnlY AuthEntic BRitiSh PuB! BreaKfast With santa fun for the Whole faMily. BooK your taBle noW!!! saturday deceMBer 19th 11:00aM Taunton Rd. The Pipes & Taps 289-863-1155 Hays Blvd AyA Kitchens of oAKville 1195 north service roAd west Mention this ad to get 10% off your food order liVe Music WeeKends 481 North Service Rd. @ 4th Line, Oakville 905.847.1522 ayaoakville.com 905-825-1109 www.abbeyarmspub.ca