Geetika Sharma suicide case: Ex-Haryana minister Gopal Kanda acquitted
Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on Tuesday acquitted former Haryana minister and Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) MLA from Sirsa, Gopal Goyal Kanda, in the case of abetment of suicide of former air hostess Geetika Sharma. Special Judge Vikas Dhull also acquitted Kanda's aide, Aruna Chadha, a co-accused in the case, noting that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond all reasonable doubts.
Why does this story matter?
Sharma (23), who was employed with Kanda's now-defunct MLDR Airlines, died by suicide at her residence in Delhi's Ashok Vihar in 2012. In her suicide note, she blamed "harassment" by Kanda and Chadha for pushing her to the extreme. Following a furor over the incident, Kanda was forced to resign from his ministerial post, and subsequently, both the accused were arrested.
Court asked Kanda, Chanda to submit Rs. 1 lakh bond
The court asked Kanda and Chadha to submit Rs. 1 lakh as personal bond and appear before the court in case the police filed an appeal against his acquittal. Kanda and Chadha were charged with Sections 306 (abetment of suicide), 506 (criminal intimidation), 201 (destruction of evidence), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 466 (forgery) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Charges of rape, unnatural sex dropped in 2013
The duo was also charged with Sections 376 (rape) and 377 (unnatural sex) of the IPC, but the charges were dropped in 2013. Kanda was a cabinet member in the Congress government led by then-CM Bhupinder Hooda. He was inducted into the Hooda government after he won in the 2009 assembly elections as an independent candidate. Notably, MDLR Airlines operated from 2007 to 2009.
Kanda pledged support to BJP
As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) returned to power in 2019, Kanda's HLP allied with the BJP, saying that he had "the blood of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)" in his veins. Last month, he met the BJP's Haryana in-charge Biplab Kumar Deb and pledged support to the BJP. In 2021, the BJP fielded his brother Gobind Kanda from the Ellenabad Assembly seat.
