Haryana's Gopal Kanda acquitted: Who was air hostess Geetika Sharma and what's the suicide case?

On August 5, 2012, Sharma died by suicide at her father's Ashok Vihar residence in North West Delhi.

Delhi's Rouse Avenue court on Tuesday acquitted former Haryana minister Gopal Goyal Kanda and his aide Aruna Chadha in connection with the air hostess Geetika Sharma death by suicide case, saying that the prosecution “failed to prove the charges beyond all reasonable doubts". The court asked the two accused to submit ₹1 lakh in personal bond and remain present if the police filed an appeal against his acquittal.

Geetika Sharma

Kanda, an influential politician and a businessman, is the leader of the Haryana Lokhit Party and an MLA from the Sirsa assembly constituency in Haryana.

What is the 2012 air hostess Geetika Sharma suicide case?

1. Geetika Sharma was working with Gopal Kanda's aviation firm MDLR Airlines as an air hostess and was later made director of one of Kanda's corporate offices in Gurgaon.
2. On August 5, 2012, Sharma died by suicide at her father's Ashok Vihar residence in North West Delhi.
3. In her two-page suicide note, Sharma alleged that she was ending her life due to “harassment” by Kanda and his employee Aruna Chadha.
4. Chadha was arrested on August 8, 2012, while Kanda was booked by the Delhi Police in the case under various sections, including 306 (abetment of suicide), 506 (criminal intimidation), 201 (destruction of evidence), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 466 (forgery). Charges of rape (376) and 377 (unnatural sex) were also filed against him, but they were dropped later by the Delhi high court. Following the registration of the case, Kanda, who was a home minister in the previous Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government in Haryana, was forced to resign. He had also held the urban bodies, industry, and commerce portfolios.
5. Six months after Sharma's death, her mother Anuradha Sharma - who was a retired accountant in the finance ministry - also allegedly died by suicide. In her suicide note, she blamed Kanda for driving her to suicide with their harassment.