Cops summon Kanda for questioning in Geetika suicide

New Delhi : Charges of criminal intimidation were Tuesday slapped on former Haryana minister Gopal Goyal Kanda and he was summoned for questioning over the suicide of his former employee Geetika Sharma, whose body was found hanging in her house here Aug 5, police said Tuesday.

Deputy commissioner of Police P. Karunakaran told IANS that Kanda was summoned by the investigators for questioning and charges under the Indian Penal Code Section 506 (criminal intimidation) were added in the case registered against him Sunday.

Kanda, who resigned as minister of state for home and urban local bodies in Haryana, was booked by Delhi Police in a case of abetment to suicide on the basis of the suicide note of the 23-year-old former air hostess Geetika, who allegedly committed suicide in her house in north Delhi’s Ashok Vihar.

Geetika, who was working with the now defunct MDLR Airline owned by Kanda, committed suicide Sunday and in her suicide note accused Kanda and MDLR official Aruna Chaddha of harassing her.

“We issued notices to Chaddha and another colleague Ankit Alhuwalia Monday to join the probe. Alhuwalia’s name cropped up during investigations,” said Karunakaran.

According to Geetika’s brother, Gaurav Sharma, his sister was being constantly mentally harassed by Kanda and his colleague Aruna Chaddha.

Kanda owned the MDLR Airlines where Geetika worked as a flight attendant. After the airline ceased to function in 2009, she was given a job in another company owned by Kanda.