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Gopal Kumar Goyal (born 29 December 1965), commonly known as Gopal Goyal Kanda, is a businessman and former member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly in India.

Kanda was elected to the legislative assembly of the state of Haryana in 2009 as an Independent representative for the Sirsa constituency. He served for some time as a minister in the Government of Haryana before resigning his post in the wake of legal charges being filed against him. He subsequently founded the Haryana Lokhit Party and stood unsuccessfully as a candidate in the state assembly elections of 2014. In 2019, he again stood as a candidate for elections. He was successful in his attempt and is now the MLA for Sirsa.

Background

Gopal Goyal Kanda was born on 29 December 1965 in Sirsa, Haryana, India, where his father, Murli Dhar Kanda, was a lawyer. His ancestors were market traders and his surname, 'Kanda', refers to the iron weights used by such people. He lived with his family in a two-room apartment above their shop. They had connections with an influential local politician, Om Prakash Chautala, and access to Tara Baba (died 2002), a reclusive local spiritual guru whom Kanda has subsequently done much to promote venerate.

A school drop-out, according to The Times of India Kanda has been "Electrician, shoe shop owner, real estate broker, industrialist, car dealer, Tara Baba devotee, airline owner and politician". Kanda's early attempts at business in Sirsa – a music shop and various ventures involving shoes – were unsuccessful. In 1997, he moved to Gurgaon to enter the real estate business and was able to exploit legal reforms to become a successful broker and, eventually, developer. According to Yuva Portal by 2005, he also had interests in designer clothing production and was an exporter, as well as owning a hotel in Gurgaon, a casino in Goa and various car dealerships. He launched MDLR Airlines around 2006–2007, but it suspended operations in 2009, after accumulating losses and suffering a 2008 tax raid in which numerous employees were convicted. The airline became a part of Emirates Airlines in October 2010.

Kanda is married to Saraswati Devi and has a son and two daughters. He uses the surname "Kanda" for political and religious purposes, while for business purposes and on official papers his name is Gopal Kumar Goyal.

Politics

Kanda returned to Sirsa in 2006 with an eye to entering politics. He leveraged the local status of the Chautala family and of Tara Baba, in memory of whom he built a large temple complex. It was during the period after Chautala became Chief Minister in 1999 that Kanda's business career had taken off but Chautala's Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) party lost the 2005 general elections in Haryana.

The relationship with the Chautala family soured when they refused to select Kanda as an INLD candidate in the 2009 state assembly elections, believing that he was incapable of winning. Although he was also friendly with significant members of the Indian National Congress (INC), that party, too, refused him a candidacy. Exploiting his religious affiliations with Tara Baba, he contested instead as an independent and defeated the INLD candidate, Padam Jain, by a margin of 6521 votes. He supported the INC, led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda, in the formation of a government. The INC had 40 legislators and needed at least another six to form the government, so Kanda acted as kingmaker and rallied a group of independents in support of Hooda. He was rewarded with a cabinet post and made Minister of State for Home in Haryana. He had at that time ten criminal cases pending against him.

When not bound by the Election Commission of India's Model Code of Conduct, which restricts certain activities during election periods, Kanda regularly provided his constituents with free medicines and access to medical services, along with food, water and school books. Supporters claim that Tara Baba declared him to be his spiritual heir.

Resignation as minister

Kanda was arrested in 2012 and resigned from office in the home ministry in the Government of Haryana. On 5 August 2012, Geetika Sharma, a former air hostess with the MDLR airline had committed suicide. She left two suicide notes. accusing Kanda and an aide of harassment. She also alleged that Kanda was "having an illicit relationship with another woman, Ankita, with whom he has a child". Allegations have been made that before her suicide Kanda sent a letter to Emirates saying that she had been a poor employee and had defaulted on a loan, and her family said that he had sent her threatening e-mails using several identities. Kanda denied the allegations and stated that he had encouraged Sharma by sponsoring her on an MBA course. He also said "She was also made the chairman of the trust which managed an international school at Sirsa."

Delhi Police took him in custody, with charges including abetting the suicide, criminal conspiracy and criminal intimidation, and sending false electronic messages. Haryana chief minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, said that his former minister not helping the police in the suicide probe was "unfair".

On 15 February 2013, Geetika's mother, Anuradha Sharma also committed suicide. She chose the same method as her daughter and left a suicide note at the same place as her.

On 4 March 2014, Kanda was granted bail after a charge of sexual exploitation was dropped by the Delhi High Court. Both the police and Geetika Sharma's brother objected to the grant of bail, alleging that medical records had been forged, the freedom would enable witness interference, and that it could prejudice a future trial. Kanda then sought judicial intervention to prevent media from reporting the case. On 25 July 2023, Kanda along with the co-accused Aruna Chadha were acquitted by the Court.

Return to politics

As leader of the Haryana Lokhit Party, which he had formed in May 2014, Kanda contested the 2014 elections in Haryana. He lost to Makhan Lal Singla of the INLD, despite his opponents acknowledging beforehand that his local popularity negated any potential ill effects from the Sharma case.

In October 2016, with the Sharma case still unresolved, Kanda and his brother, Govind, were charged in relation to an investigation into alleged illegal property development in Sirsa. Police had been looking into the matter since 2009. Kanda has had other brushes with the law, including a case from 2000 involving cheque bouncing that was still unresolved in 2014, and a 2007 incident when he was discovered in the company of members of the criminal underworld.

See also

• Politics of India
• Suicide in India

References

1. "Haryana Legislative Assembly Election, 2019 - Haryana - Election Commission of India". eci.gov.in. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
2. ^ Singh, Abhimanyu (12 August 2012). "Religion made Kanda popular in Sirsa, wealth came in Gurgaon". Sunday Guardian. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
3. ^ Munshi, Suhas (9 August 2012). "The rise and fall of Sirsa's notorious son Gopal Goyal Kanda". India Today. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
4. ^ Siwach, Sukhbir (10 August 2012). "Gopal Kanda: A dropout's rise to wealth and power". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
5. "Geetika Sharma suicide: Court rejects Kanda's anticipatory bail plea". The Times of India. 9 August 2012. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
6. Dua, Rohan (22 August 2012). "Gopal Kumar Goyal's 'Kanda' mystery". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
7. "(Haryana Assembly Elections 2005 Constituency wise Results". Rediff.
8. Bhatt, Abhinav (21 August 2012). "Who is Gopal Goyal Kanda?". Retrieved 11 August 2017.
9. ^ Ghose, Dipankar (24 September 2014). "Where everything Kanda owns is a landmark". The Indian Express. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
10. ^ "Kanda may also face destruction of proof case". Deccan Herald. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
11. "Suicide saga turns murkier, Geetika worked at Gopal Kanda's Goa casinos, Nupur Mehta involved". India TV. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
12. ^ Gopal Kanda threatened us hours before Geetika committed suicide, alleges family
13. Shekhar, Raj (6 August 2012). "My trust is costing my life, won't forgive him: Geetika Sharma". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 21 November 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
14. "Fresh trouble for Kanda". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
15. "Kanda must join Geetika suicide probe: Hooda". The Times of India. 10 August 2012. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013.
16. "Geetika Sharma's mother commits suicide". Archived from the original on 20 March 2013.
17. "Gopal Kanda gets bail in Geetika Sharma Suicide Case". Bihar Prabha. Indo-Asian News Service. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
18. "Airhostess Suicide Case: Delhi Police Opposes Bail for ex-Haryana Minister Gopal Kanda". NDTV. Press Trust of India. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
19. "Airhostess Geetika Sharma suicide case: Gopal Kanda seeks curbs on media coverage". The Financial Express. Press Trust of India. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
20. "Delhi Court Acquits Former Haryana Minister Gopal Kanda in Geetika Sharma Suicide Case". The Wire. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
21. "Gopal Kanda's Haryana Lokhit Party promises sops for al". DNA. 17 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
22. "INLD saves bastion, wins 8 of 9 seats in Sirsa". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014.
23. "Kanda, brother booked for building illegal colony". The Times of India. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
24. "Kanda gets bail in cheque bounce case". The Indian Express. Press Trust of India. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2017.

External links

• Gopal Goyal Kanda on Facebook

• 1965 births
• Living people
• Indian prisoners and detainees
• State cabinet ministers of Haryana
• Haryana MLAs 2009–2014
• Crime in Haryana
• Indian National Lok Dal politicians
• Indian National Congress politicians from Haryana
• Haryana MLAs 2019–2024
• Haryana MLAs 2014–2019