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Geetika case
Kanda gets interim bail to attend House session
Legal Correspondent

Geetika (23) had committed suicide at her Ashok Vihar residence in northwest Delhi on August 5, 2012, blaming MDLR airlines’ chief Kanda and its executive Aruna Chadha, a co-accused in the case, for forcing her to take the extreme step by harassing her. Chadha, arrested on August 8 last year, has already secured bail till November 15 citing family commitments.

In jail since his surrender on August 18, Kanda had pleaded for bail, contending that his constituency and the residents were suffering due to his incarceration. Funds meant for Sirsa were lying unutilised. Also, the investigation was over and the trial was on and as such there was no apprehension that he would tamper with evidence. The prosecution had opposed the bail plea, arguing that many of the witnesses who were yet to be examined were employees of Kanda and as such there was a possibility of the accused influencing them. It also wanted to know as to why Kanda chose to skip the February 2013 session of the state Assembly and was keen to attend the present session.

The trial in the case had begun on May 27 with the recording the statements of eight witnesses, including police personnel and the doctor who conducted the victim’s postmortem. Besides abetting the suicide, the two accused are also facing the charge of forgery for cheating and harming Geetika’s reputation.