Geetika case: Kanda sent to judicial custody till Sept 11

Former Haryana minister Gopal Goyal Kanda, key accused in the Geetika Sharma suicide case, was on Tuesday sent to 14-day judicial custody by a Delhi court.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate D K Jangala remanded Kanda to judicial custody till September 11 after the Delhi police said he was not required for further custodial interrogation.

Kanda was produced before the court after expiry of three days of police custody, which was extended on August 25 after seven days of custodial interrogation.

Kanda was arrested on August 18 after he had surrendered before the police, almost 13 days after former airhostess Geetika Sharma was found dead on August 5 at her Ashok Vihar residence in northwest Delhi.

In her suicide note, Geetika had alleged that Kanda and one of the MDLR employees Aruna Chaddha were harassing her to rejoin the former minister's firm after she left the job.

Kanda sent to judicial custody till Sept 11 in the Geetika case. He also moved an application for a separate vehicle for transporation from Tihar jail to court saying that currently he is a member of legislative assembly from Sirsa, Haryana and till recently, he was the minister of home affairs of the state and feared from being attacked in jail van.

The court allowed Kanda's plea for a separate vehicle for transportation to and from Tihar jail and court. "In the fact and circumstances, considering security and safety of the accused, his applications are allowed, because it relates to personal safety," the court said.

The application filed through advocate Somesh Arora said till now Kanda was under police protection but now he has been remanded to judicial custody, "there is strong possibility of physical attack upon him during the transportation from Tihar jail to court".

The court also allowed Kanda plea that he is a patient of high blood pressure and he be allowed to carry his medicines in the jail.

Earlier, the police had said that Kanda was evasive in his answers and the investigators had sought his custody to recover his and Geetika's mobile phones and missing hard disk of his computer installed at his house.

On August 16, a magisterial court had issued a non-bailable warrant against the former Haryana minister.

The court had asked the police to execute the arrest warrant by August 24.

Earlier, Kanda's anticipatory bail plea was rejected by a sessions court and the Delhi high court.

Kanda's employee, Aruna Chaddha, a senior functionary with now defunct MDLR airlines, arrested on August 8 is also in judicial custody in connection with the suicide of 23-year-old airhostess Geetika Sharma.

Both Kanda and Chaddha have denied the allegations.