The suicide of a former airhostess and a note left by her implicating Haryana Minister Gopal Kanda forced him to resign on Sunday night.
Kanda resigned on Sunday night hours after he was booked for abetment to suicide by the Delhi Police, after a former woman employee of his now defunct airline MDLR, was found dead hanging.
“I have tendered my resignation and requested Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to accept it. I have resigned to ensure an impartial probe,” the Independent MLA told reporters at his residence in Gurgaon.
Geetika Sharma, a 23-year-old former airhostess killed herself at her house in Ashok Vihar Phase-3 in northwest Delhi on Sunday. She left a suicide note, alleging that the minister had “harassed” her.
The victim was found hanging in her room at 9:30 am by her parents, who immediately informed the police.
Geetika was taken to Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital, where she was declared brought dead.
A two-page note found in her room alleged that Kanda and his company’s general manager Aruna Chaddha used to harass her. The police said she was “mentally harassed”.
“A case has been filed with the Bharat Nagar police station against Kanda and Aruna Chaddha under Section 306/40 (abetment to suicide). Investigation is on,” said deputy commissioner of police (north-west) P Karunakaran.
In the note, Geetika claimed that Kanda had been torturing her mentally after she quit his company. She alleged that he had been pressuring her to rejoin his firm.
Geetika joined Kanda’s MDLR Airline four years ago after completing an airhostess course and worked for two years. After the airline ceased operations, she was made director in one of Kanda’s subsidiary companies, but refused.
“When the airline suspended operations, Kanda offered her another job. But she joined another airline in Dubai. He then wrote to that airline, making allegations against her character, which led to her termination,” alleged Gaurav Sharma, Geetika’s brother.
She returned and was asked to join as director in another of Kanda’s companies. There, she worked for a few months and resigned one-and-a-half-month ago to prepare for an MBA course.
She refused
“Fifteen days ago, Kanda and his wife came to our house and convinced her to join the company, but she refused,” alleged Gaurav. He said Kanda told her that she must work only in his company and not anywhere else.
“He used to spy on her and follow her,” Gaurav added. In the note, she also wrote that Kanda had physically harassed one of her colleagues. The police said they were analysing Geetika’s call records and her personal diary.