The key witness in the Air-India trial feared that one of the two accused in the case would kill her if she revealed his alleged involvement in the bombing.

Prosecutor Richard Cairns claimed before the British Columbia Supreme Court that the witness - -a woman who cannot be named under a court order -- testified to police that Ajaib Singh Bagri told her 'she knew what he would do' if his secret was revealed.

"The source is sure he meant that he would kill her," the prosecutor told the court reading from the September 10, 1987 statement.

The claim that the woman was scared of the accused has prompted the prosecution to apply to the court to get her declared 'hostile', Canadian media reported.

Bagri and Ripudaman Singh Malik are accused of triggering two explosions on June 23, 1985, killing 331 people. One explosion killed two baggage handlers at Japan's Narita airport. Another bomb went off on Air India's Kanishka aircraft, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean killing 329 people.