New Delhi, May 10
Former Haryana Minister Gopal Goyal Kanda was charged with rape and unnatural sex by a Delhi court, while his aide Aruna Chadha was charged with abetting the two offences in the former air hostess suicide case.

Aruna Chadha

District and Sessions Judge S K Sarvaria framed the charges today. New charges that have been added against Kanda are the IPC sections 376 (rape) and 377 (unnatural sex). Chadha has been charged with sections 376 and 377, both read with the IPC section 109 (abetting the offences).

The judge has removed the IPC Section 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) from the case. The rest of the charges mentioned in the charge sheet have been retained. They are the IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 306 (abetment of suicide), 466 (Forgery of record of Court or of public register, etc), 467 (Forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 469 (Forgery for purpose of harming reputation) and Information Technology Act sections 43 (damage of computer) and 66 (punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service).

Kanda is chairman of now-defunct MDLR Airlines where the former airhostess had worked. He was Minister of State for Home Affairs in Haryana. The 23-year-old victim, who was an air hostess and later a senior official in the group, was found hanging from the ceiling of a room at Ashok Vihar house on August 5. The suicide note purportedly written by her mentions that she was harassed by the two accused.

The victim’s mother also allegedly committed suicide at her house on February 15. A suicide note written by her mentions that she was sad as her daughter had to take the extreme step and end her life due to Kanda and Chadha.

Kapil Sangla, lawyer for the accused, said, “The prosecution had clarified that there is no sexual angle in the case. Sections 376 and 377 were not written in the FIR and the charge sheet filed by the police. Since there were no such allegations (sexual), so there were no arguments.”

The victim’s family, however, said the prosecutor had earlier mentioned in the court a sexual angle to the case.

The case was transferred to fast-track court of Additional Sessions Judge Mahesh Chander Gupta today. The recording of the evidence will begin from May 27.