Air Hostess Suicide Case: Delhi court acquits former Haryana Minister Gopal Kanda

Former Haryana Minister Gopal Goyal Kanda has been acquitted by Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court in air hostess Geetika Sharma’s suicide case.

Geetika, a former air hostess with Kanda’s MLDR airlines, who was later promoted as a director of one of Gopal Goyal Kanda’s companies, was found dead on 5 August 2012, at her residence in North West Delhi’s Ashok Vihar.

In her suicide note, Geetika on 4 August had said she was ending her life due to “harassment” by former Haryana MLA Kanda (46) and another person.

Kanda, an influential politician and businessman, was a minister in the erstwhile Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government.

After the incident surfaced and a case was registered against him, Kanda was forced to resign as minister of state for home.

He was facing charges under various sections of IPC, including 306 (abetment of suicide), 506 (criminal intimidation), 201 (destruction of evidence), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 466 (forgery).

The trial court had also framed charges of rape (376) and 377 (unnatural sex) against him but the Delhi High Court quashed these.