Are police under political pressure to go soft on Kanda?

The fact the Gopal Kanda has managed to evade arrest for six days has raised doubts on the efficiency of the Delhi Police.

The fact the Gopal Kanda has managed to evade arrest for six days has raised doubts on the efficiency of the Delhi Police.

Geetika Sharma had committed suicide on Sunday morning and hours after Kanda’s name cropped up in the investigation, he talked to the media claiming innocence.

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For the next three days, Kanda was at his Gurgaon house, from where he talked to media, but police chose not to arrest him. “That is why we have been demanding an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Delhi Police is not serious about the investigation, and we suspect that they are under political pressure,” Anuradha Sharma, Geetika’s mother said.

Initially, the Delhi Police had claimed that they would collect evidence against Kanda first and then call him for questioning.

On Tuesday, a notice was issued to Kanda to appear before the police, but he did not and instead went underground. Since then, the Delhi Police have been conducting raids at various places but have failed to nab him so far.

Sources said that Kanda hoodwinked the police by claiming that he would appear for questioning on Wednesday and then went into hiding.

Police kept on waiting for him, and finally declared him ‘absconding’ on Wednesday. “For police, the dying statement of the victim should be more than enough. But since this is a high-profile case involving a minister, police decided to move slowly and this proved costly,” Suresh Sharma, a relative of victim said.