Haryana MLA Gopal Kanda Acquitted in 2012 Air Hostess Suicide Case

New Delhi: Controversial Haryana MLA, Gopal Kanda, has been acquitted by a Delhi court in the 2012 suicide case of a former air hostess who worked for his now-defunct airline, MLDR Airlines. The court also acquitted co-accused Aruna Chadha, citing a lack of sufficient evidence to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

The deceased, Geetika Sharma, was a former air hostess at MLDR Airlines and later became a director in one of Kanda’s companies. She was found dead on August 5, 2012, at her residence in Delhi. In her suicide note dated August 4, she had accused Gopal Kanda and another individual of harassment.

Gopal Kanda, a prominent politician and businessman who served as a minister in the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government, had to resign from his post after the case was registered against him. He faced charges under various sections of the IPC, including criminal intimidation, destruction of evidence, and forgery.

Initially, the trial court had also framed charges of rape and unnatural sex against Kanda, but the Delhi High Court later quashed those charges.

Geetika Sharma’s tragic demise led to her mother’s suicide six months later in the family’s residence in northwest Delhi.

Geetika had joined MDLR Airlines in 2006, but after its closure, she moved to Dubai to work with Emirates Airlines. Allegations were made that Gopal Kanda forged letters to bring her back to India and then blackmailed her into working for him again.