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Haryana minister accused of abetting airhostess' suicide quits

August 06, 2012 09:21 IST

Haryana minister Gopal Kanda resigned on Sunday night after he was booked for abetment to suicide by the Delhi police after a former woman employee of his now defunct airline MDLR allegedly took her life accusing him of harassing her.

Twenty-three-year-old former airhostess Geetika Sharma, who quit Kanda's company recently, allegedly took the extreme step at her Ashok Vihar residence in north-west Delhi, apparently depressed over continuing mental harassment allegedly by Kanda and which was mentioned in her suicide note.

Forty-six-year-old Kanda, an independent MLA from Sirsa, is the minister of state for home affairs, urban bodies and industry and commerce. "I have tendered my resignation and requested Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to accept it. I have resigned to ensure an impartial probe. I have full faith in the law of the land. I am confident that I will come out clean after investigations are held," he told reporters at his residence

in Gurgaon.

Denying having any direct links with the suicide victim, Kanda said he was a victim of "conspiracy". The Delhi police received a call about the incident at 9.20 am and found her hanging after entering her room through the ventilator as it was locked from inside. She was rushed to a hospital where she was declared brought dead. It is alleged that Kanda was pressurising Sharma to rejoin his firm, which she had left recently to pursue MBA, a senior police officer said.

"We have registered a case of abetment to suicide against Kanda and Aruna Chaddha, a manager with Kanda's firm," P Karunakaran, deputy commissioner of police (northwest), said.

In her suicide note, Geetika had claimed that Kanda was torturing her mentally after she left her job in his company and was pressurising her to join his firm again. "She has written about the Haryana Minister in the suicide note. The MDLR group said it was cooperating with the police probe.