Who is Gopal Kanda, Haryana minister acquitted in 2012 air hostess Geetika Sharma suicide case?

In a case of aiding the suicide of air hostess Geetika Sharma, a Delhi court on Tuesday found former Haryana minister Gopal Kanda not guilty.

Gopal Kanda and his associate Aruna Chadha were cleared of all accusations, including aiding suicide, criminal conspiracy, destroying evidence, and forgery, by special judge Vikas Dhull.

Gopal Kanda: About
Kanda, born on Dec 29, 1965, is a businessman and member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly in India. 

He was chosen to independently represent the Sirsa seat in the state of Haryana's legislative assembly in 2009. He then held the position of minister for a short period of time before quitting in the aftermath of charges being brought against him.

Later on, he established the Haryana Lokhit Party and ran unsuccessfully for state assembly in 2014. He ran for office again later in 2019 and was successful in doing so. He is now the MLA for Sirsa.

What was the air hostess suicide case where Gopal Kanda was acquitted?
On August 5, 2012, Geetika Sharma, a former flight attendant for Gopal Kanda's MLDR airlines who eventually rose to the position of director for one of his businesses, was found dead at her Ashok Vihar home in northwest Delhi.

She described Gopal Kanda and Aruna Chadha's "harassment" as the reason behind her suicide in a note she left on August 4.

Six months after Geetika Sharma's death, her mother too killed herself. Her death, according to the family, was brought on by heartache and harassment brought on by the police and court proceedings.

What were the charges against Gopal Kanda?
A number of Indian Penal Code (IPC) offences, including 306 (abetment of suicide), 506 (criminal intimidation), 201 (destruction of evidence), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 466 (forgery), were used to prosecute Gopal Kanda.

Additionally, accusations of rape (376) and 377 (unnatural sex) had been brought against him by a trial court, but the Delhi High Court dismissed them.

Kanda turned herself in at Ashok Vihar Police Station in the early hours of August 18, while Chaddha was taken into custody by the police on August 8, 2012.

Gopal Kanda said the case against him was "political" and that there was "no evidence against him". The verdict was delivered by Special Judge Vikas Dhull, who cleared Gopal Goyal Kanda and Aruna Chadha of all charges.