Gopal Kanda, acquitted in air hostess Geetika suicide case, once ran a radio repair shop and owned an airline company

New Delhi: Gopal Goyal Kanda, former MLA from Sirsa in the previous Congress government led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Haryana and former minister of state for home, was on Tuesday acquitted by a Delhi court in a case of abetting the suicide of air hostess Geetika Sharma. Special Judge Vikas Dhull, who passed the order, also acquitted co-accused in the case Aruna Chadha and said the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond all reasonable doubt. The accused were charged under various sections including 306 (abetment of suicide), 506 (criminal intimidation), 201 (destroying evidence), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 466 (forgery).

What was the case against Gopal Kanda?

Geetika Shama, an airhostess working with Gopal Kanda’s now-defunct MDLR Airlines, was found dead on 5 August 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 the post of Minister of State for Home after the case was registered.

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What were the allegations against Gopal Kanda?

The trial court had also framed charges of rape (376) and 377 (unnatural sex) against Kanda. However, the Delhi High Court later quashed the charges under sections 376 and 377 of the IPC. This is not the only case in which Gopal Kanda’s name has cropped up. A case has been registered against the former Haryana minister under the Negotiable Instruments Act. In October 2016, Kanda and his brothers were accused of illegally developing a property in Sirsa.

Who is Gopal Goyal Kanda?

Gopal Goyal Kanda, once an influential politician from Haryana, ran a small radio repairing shop called Jupiter Music Home in the 1990s. His father was a well-known lawyer and RSS worker from Sirsa, who contested the assembly elections from Sirsa in 1952, but was unsuccessful.

After some success from the radio repair shop, Gopal Kanda along with his brother Govind opened a shoe shop in Sirsa. As soon as the Kanda brothers started earning money, they started a shoe factory. By this time, Gopal Kanda’s growing influence had befriended many top businessmen, traders and politicians.

In 2007, Gopal Kanda started an airline named after his father Murli Dhar Lakh Ram (MDLR). Kanda appointed Geetika Sharma to a senior position in the now defunct airline.

Kahand used his father’s RSS connections to enter politics. He first befriended the Bansilal family of the Congress. However, after Bansilal was ousted from power, he switched sides and joined Chautala and INLD. With the passage of time, the Kanda brothers became very close to the Chautala’s.

However, his relationship with the Chautala family came under strain after the INLD denied him a ticket from Sirsa. Despite not getting a ticket, Kanda contested as an independent from Sirsa in 2009 and won with a good margin. This was the time when Bhupinder Singh Hooda sought his support for numbers.

In 2019, Gopal Kanda along with his brother Govind Kanda formed the Haryana Lokhit Party. He played a key role in helping the BJP muster a majority to stay in power.

It is also said that a senior IAS officer of Haryana cadre helped Gopal Kanda to expand his business outside Haryana. With their help, Kanda shifted his base from Sira to Gurgaon and ventured into real estate business. Gopal Kanda’s Golden Globe Hotels Pvt Ltd company operates a casino in Goa.

After his acquittal in the Geetika Sharma suicide case, there is a strong buzz in Haryana about the possibility of him joining the BJP.