As Delhi court acquits Gopal Kanda, what you need to know about Geetika Sharma suicide case

A Delhi court has acquitted Haryana MLA and businessman, Gopal Goyal Kanda, and his aide, Aruna Chaddha, in the Geetika Sharma suicide case. On August 5, 2012, air hostess Geetika Sharma, who had worked at Kanda’s MLDR Airlines, died by suicide.

She left a two-page suicide note, accusing Kanda and Aruna of mentally harassing her. Six months later, her mother, Anuradha Sharma, also committed suicide on February 13, 2013, leaving a suicide note accusing Kanda of harassing the family.

Kanda, who was then an MLA from the Sirsa constituency, had to resign from office in 2012.

Reasons for Geetika's suicide

Geetika Sharma was employed at MLDR Airlines, which was owned by Gopal Kanda. The airlines suspended operations in 2009, and Geetika then moved to Dubai to work for Emirates Airlines.

However, in her suicide note, she alleged that she was mentally harassed by Gopal Kanda, even when she was working there. Allegations were made against Kanda that he sent a letter to Emirates Airlines, stating that she was a poor employee and that she had defaulted on a loan. Her family alleged that Kanda sent her several threatening emails using different identities.

In her suicide note, Geetika wrote, “Gopal Goyal is a fraud. In the name of relationships and trust, he cheats on people and harasses them. He always lies to his family, friends, kids, and people around everyone. My biggest mistake was that I trusted him, which is now costing my life.”

Delhi Police investigation

The Delhi police's investigation revealed that Geetika Sharma had terminated her pregnancies, and the co-accused, Anuradha Chaddha, knew about it. Chaddha was detained by Delhi police for interrogation and was taken to places where she had accompanied Sharma for aborting her pregnancies.

The Delhi police also recovered emails written by Geetika Sharma, where she had leveled harassment charges against the two accused.

In the first email, she wrote that she was being hounded and wanted to start a new life and career. On the same day, she wrote a second note in which she claimed that she was "under a lot of stress and pressure."

According to the documents accessed by India Today at that time, Geetika claimed she was leaving Emirates because she had some personal issues to resolve in India.

Gopal Kanda's bail

The Sirsa MLA was given bail in 2014 after the charge of sexual harassment was dropped by the Delhi High Court. Thereafter, he founded the Haryana Lokhit Party and stood unsuccessfully as a candidate in the 2014 Haryana state assembly elections.

On July 25, 2023, he was been acquitted by the Delhi High Court along with his associate Aruna Chaddha.