Oppn mounts pressure on govt, seeks Kanda dismissal

The protest against former Haryana minister of state for home Gopal Goyal Kanda took a serious political turn on Tuesday when the opposition, led by BJP members, demanded his removal from the post of MLA as well.

The protest against former Haryana minister of state for home Gopal Goyal Kanda took a serious political turn on Tuesday when the opposition, led by BJP members, demanded his removal from the post of MLA as well.

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Kanda resigned as minister on Sunday after he and a manager in his MDLR group were booked by the Delhi Police for allegedly abetting the suicide of a 23-year-old former airhostess of the now defunct MDLR airline.

Geetika Sharma was found hanging at her house in Ashok Vihar. She left a suicide note, alleging that Kanda and his employee Aruna Chadha had been harassing and cheating her. “I believed these people, but they are not trustworthy. Whatever has happened with me, shouldn't happen with anyone else,” she allegedly wrote.

Several protesters met district BJP president Krishna Pal Gujar on Tuesday and requested him to meet Haryana governor Jagannath Pahadia.

“We held an urgent meeting and went to Chandigarh to give a memorandum to the governor, requesting immediate suspension of Kanda from the state legislative assembly. He should be removed from the post of MLA,” said Gujar.

In another development, co-accused in the case Chadha, appeared before the media at Civil Lines in Gurgaon.

“I have received a notice from Delhi Police at 6am and I am likely to be present before the inquiry team tomorrow in Delhi. As soon as the inquiry is over, I will let the media know the facts,” said Chadha, adding she will be proved innocent in the investigation.

She, however, refused to answer any media queries.

Meanwhile, Kanda’s personal secretary Devkant Sharma ruled out the arrest of the former minister stating that he will be appear before the inquiry committee on Wednesday in Delhi.

“There is no question of his arrest,” he said.

Meanwhile, heavy police force was deployed outside Kanda’s house in Civil Lines, Gurgaon, to prevent any untoward incident. On Monday, too, an angry mob burnt Kanda’s effigy and shouted slogans against him, demanding his arrest.

Workers of other parties including Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Haryana Janhit Congress also expressed resentment that Kanda was not arrested even two days after an FIR was lodged against him.

“It is a shame that the governments of Haryana and Delhi are adopting a soft stand towards Kanda and other co-accused. How will people trust their leaders,” rued Gopi Chand Gehlot, the Gurgaon district president of INLD.

CASE HISTORY

Haryana minister Gopal Goyal Kanda resigned on Sunday after he and a manager in his MDLR group were booked for allegedly abetting the suicide of a 23-year-old former airhostess of the now defunct MDLR airline.

Geetika Sharma was found hanging at her house. She left a suicide note, alleging that Kanda and his employee Aruna Chadha had been harassing and cheating her.

Sharma joined MDLR airline in 2007. She was offered another job after the airline shut down in 2009, but she refused. Sharma moved to Emirates airline.

“Kanda emailed to Emirates that she had defaulted on a loan in India. He also raised questions about her character. The airline sacked her and she returned to India in 2010,” said Sharma’s cousin Gaurav.

Kanda convinced Sharma and she became a director in one of MDLR’s companies but quit two months ago to study MBA. She was reportedly depressed.