New Delhi: Gopal Goyal Kanda, the Sirsa MLA and the ex-Minister of State, Home, in the previous Congress government in Haryana led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda, was on Tuesday acquitted by a Delhi court in a case of abetment of suicide of air hostess Geetika Sharma. Special Judge Vikas Dhull, who passed the order, also acquitted co-accused Aruna Chadha in the case, saying the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond all reasonable doubt. The accused were facing charges under various sections, including 306 (abetment of suicide), 506 (criminal intimidation), 201 (destruction of evidence), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 466 (forgery).
What Was The Case Against Gopal Kanda?
Geetika Shama, an air hostess employed with Gopal Kanda’s now-defunct MDLR Airlines, was found dead on August 5, 2012, at her Ashok Vihar residence in North West Delhi. In her two-page suicide note, Geetika Sharma alleged that she was ending her life due to alleged “harassment” by Kanda and Chadha. Kanda was forced to resign from his post of minister of state for home following the registration of the case.
What Were The Charges Against Gopal Kanda?
The trial court had also framed charges of rape (376) and 377 (unnatural sex) against Kanda. The Delhi High Court, however, later quashed the charges under 376 and 377 of the IPC. This is not the only case in which Gopal Kanda has been named. A case under the Negotiable Instruments Act has been registered against the former Haryana minister. In October 2016, Kanda and his brothers were accused of illegally developing a property in Sirsa.
Who Is Gopal Goyal Kanda?
Gopal Goyal Kanda used to run a small radio repairing shop called Jupiter Music Home during the 1990s. His father was a well-known advocate of Sirsa and an RSS worker, who also unsuccessfully contested the assembly election from Sirsa in 1952. Having met some success with the radio repair shop, Gopal Kanda along with his brother Govind then opened a shoe store in Sirsa. As the Kanda brothers began to mint money, they started a shoe factory. By this time, Gopal Kanda's rising influence made several top traders, businessmen and Haryana politicians his close friends.
In 2007, Gopal Kanda launched an airline, which he named after his father Murli Dhar Lakh Ram (MDLR). Kanda employed Geetika Sharma in a senior role at this airline, which is now defunct.
Kahnd used his father’s RSS links to make his foray into politics. He first made friends with the Bansi Lal family of the Congress. However, he switched to the Chautalas and the INLD after Bansi Lal was ousted from power. With the passage of time, the Kanda brothers became very close to the Chautalas. However, their relationship with the Chautalas strained after the INLD denied him a ticket from Sirsa. Despite not getting a ticket, Kanda contested the election as an Independent from Sirsa in 2009 and won with good margins. It was the time when Bhupinder Singh Hooda sought his support for numbers.
In 2019, Gopal Kanda floated the Haryana Lokhit Party along with his brother Govind Kanda. He was instrumental in helping BJP cobble up a majority to stay in power. It is also said that a senior Haryana cadre IAS officer helped Gopal Kanda in expanding his business outside Haryana. With his help, Kanda shifted his base from Sira to Gurgaon and got into the real-estate business. Gopal Kanda’s Golden Globe Hotels Pvt Ltd firm operates a casino in Goa.
After his acquittal in the Geetika Sharma suicide case, there is a strong buzz about his possible induction into the BJP fold in Haryana.
