The family of Geetika Sharma said Tuesday the acquittal of former Haryana minister Gopal Kanda in her suicide abetment case was disappointing and it happened because he is influential. In August 2012, Geetika Sharma, a former employee of Kanda’s MDLR Airlines, died by suicide and left behind a two-page note alleging harassment by the Independent MLA from Haryana’s Sirsa. She was survived by her parents and younger brother. But nearly six months after her death, Geetika Sharma’s mother also allegedly died by suicide. She too left a suicide note stating that the family faced “pressure” from Kanda and his associates. Hours after the verdict by a Delhi court, Geetika Sharma’s brother Ankit Sharma told The Indian Express, “We are immensely disappointed with the verdict. We expected the order to come in our favour as the case was watertight and there were all messages showing Kanda harassed my sister and abetted her suicide. It happened because he was influential.” Sharma said he attended every hearing hoping the order will eventually come in their favour, but the judgement has left him and his father speechless. “This is what happens when the victim is not financially powerful enough. We gave our everything to the case these 11 years and hoped for some amount of justice for my sister but this was not to be the case,” the brother added. Ankit Sharma, an employee at a private firm, said his sister’s memories still haunt him and the drive for justice kept him going through the legal ordeal all these years. “The moment the court acquitted Kanda, it seemed like the ground beneath my feet had shaken. No one ever treated him like an accused,” said Ankit Sharma, adding that they are planning to appeal the verdict before a higher court.
