Kanda arrested after surrender, to be taken to court

New Delhi : Former Haryana minister Gopal Goyal Kanda, accused of abetting the suicide of former flight attendant Geetika Sharma, was arrested after surrendering early Saturday at a police station here and is likely to be presented before a court in north Delhi’s Rohini later, police said.

Kanda was on the run since Aug 8 after Sharma, 23, accused him and another official of his now-defunct MDLR Airlines, Aruna Chaddha, of harassing her and forcing her to commit suicide. She died on the night of Aug 4-5.

“He (Kanda) surrendered at Ashok Vihar police station around 4 a.m. He has been arrested,” a police official said.

The Delhi High Court Friday dismissed his anticipatory bail plea, observing that despite being a “free man”, he himself did not file the application and it was a “sufficient” ground for its rejection.

While Kanda’s brother Govind informed the police about the possibility of his surrender, it was after hours of drama Friday night that the former Haryana minister surrendered.

Earlier, when Kanda did not surrender and played hide and seek with police, they arrested his brother Govind.

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

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

“All we hope is that the interrogation happens unbiased. Police must look into how badly the evidence has been tampered with and punish the perpetrators,” Sharma told reporters.

Chaddha, a senior functionary with now defunct MDLR Airlines, has been arrested and is in judicial custody.

Kanda, who was forced to resign as minister of state for home and urban local bodies in Haryana in the face of public outcry over Geetika’s suicide, was booked for abetment to suicide by Delhi Police.