Delhi Police says examining all angles of ex-MDLR airhostess suicide case

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New Delhi, Aug.7: Delhi Police on Tuesday that they are investigating all angles of the Geetika Sharma suicide case, including the role played by former Haryana Home Minister Gopal Goyal Kanda.

Sharma, an MDLR air hostess, committed suicide by hanging herself in New Delhi on August 4. She left behind a suicide note in which she accused the airline’s owner and Haryana Minister Kanda of harassment.

Deputy Commissioner of Police P. Karunakaran said: “We have collected some evidence in this case. We have talked to her family members and other relatives regarding this. We are also working on the details of her laptop and cell phone. Yesterday, the post mortem was conducted and we are awaiting the report. We are going ahead with further investigations.”

Geetika’s brother, Ankit Sharma, told reporters that Kanda had falsely tried to implicate his sister in a fraud case that distressed her and she was forced to take her life.

“Gopal Goyal Kanda misused his power and mailed a letter to Emirates Airlines on the letter pad of the SHO (police station head) of Gurgaon so that my sister gets terminated. The mail stated that she had committed a fraud with MDLR. But it was not so. Geetika had told me in person that in the board meeting, the entire panel had agreed that the letter was a fraud. But the matter had to be solved in India and not Dubai. They did not even terminate her because she was performing so well. They told her to resign, but did not terminate her, as they knew the papers mailed to Emirates Airlines was a fraud. They asked her to resign, get the matter solved, and then, they would take her back,” he said.

Kanda trying to defend himself said that he was innocent and shared a good relation with Geetika’s family.

“I had good relations with her family. She was a trusted employee of mine. I don’t believe that I have been implicated in her suicide, because I don’t believe that the suicide note flashed on TV news channels is hers. If I had ever harassed her, then she would have noted that for sure. Aruna was her senior, she had been her instructor when she first joined the airlines. A few times in a period of four to five years, she went elsewhere for job, but kept coming back to us. If I had harassed her, then she and her family would not have come back to me. She came back to me two or three times for a job. I trusted her, so I never refused her. She was always welcome to join the company. I was involved in politics, so I wanted her to take care of the company,” he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) submitted a memorandum to Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia, urging him to take immediate action against Kanda in connection with the matter.

The chief of the Haryana BJP unit, Kishan Pal Gujjar, said: “Before this, action was not taken against two ministers. One CPS poisoned himself, and another was a complicit to the plot. They are now delaying action in arresting Gopal Kanda. The family of the deceased wants the minister to be arrested immediately. The affected family should get justice and the institution should be tackled,” he said.

Geetika’s suicide has sparked off massive protests in Gurgaon. An effigy of Kanda was also burnt.

Police said Kanda would be summoned after the available evidence has been examined. They said a case for abetment of suicide has been lodged against Kanda and Aruna Chadha under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). (ANI)