Who is Gopal Goyal Kanda and why was he in hiding? Brijesh
Pandey and Sai Manish chronicle the rise and fall of the Haryana
minister who profited from Gurgaon’s boom, ran an airline aground and
figures in a suicide note
2012-09-04 , Issue 34 Volume 9
Photo: PTI
Kanda, 48, an independent MLA who held the home, urban bodies and the commerce portfolios in the Haryana government, was reportedly planning to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in a bid to step on to the national stage. But he has already grabbed national attention after Geetika Sharma, 23, who worked as an air hostess at Kanda’s now-defunct MDLR Airlines, committed suicide on 5 August, leaving behind a note blaming him for her death.
So, who is Gopal Kanda, the mystery man who has managed to give the police the slip for more than a week?
Kanda’s origins were extremely humble. His father Murli Dhar was a lawyer at the Sirsa district court and was not known to have a flourishing practice. Some neighbours recall that he primarily used to deal in petty criminal cases. Gopal was the eldest among three brothers and a sister — and perhaps the most ambitious of the lot.
A school dropout, Kanda started off doing odd jobs such as renting novels, repairing radios, even running a kaleidoscope shop. Soon, he used his savings to start Shoe Camp, a footwear store in Sirsa, which was upgraded to a small shoe factory in 1994.
Kanda’s business acumen was inversely proportional to his ambitions. His stock started plummeting in the trading circles because he would often default on borrowed money. In a small town like Sirsa, with its closely-knit trading community, he soon became an outcast.
MDLR operated only three aircraft, but had 60 air hostesses. The airline was a front to keep politicians happy, says an ex-stafferDuring his trading days, Kanda got close to Abhay Chautala, the son of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Om Prakash Chautala, and became his lackey.
“Kanda
has the ability to read your mind and conjure up exactly what you
want,” says a close associate who wished to remain anonymous. “Sirsa was
just a small town with 2-3 lakh people. Gopal Kanda was a nobody and
Abhay Chautala was the prince of Haryana. Soon, Kanda became Abhay’s
stooge, which in itself was quite an achievement.”In the meantime, Kanda also became friendly with a powerful IAS officer, who took him along to Gurgaon when he was posted there in 1997-98. It was he who arranged the first tranche of cash (Rs 25 lakh) and a list of few properties that were disputed. Kanda opened an office in Sector 14, Gurgaon, where he dabbled in a readymade garments business as well as real estate. The garment business failed but realty turned out to be Kanda’s calling in life and he never looked back since.
Kanda acted as the front man for the IAS officer. His modus operandi was to buy disputed land for a low price, settle the dispute with the help of the IAS officer, and then sell the property for a premium.
“The IAS officer was not the only one. When Kanda came to Gurgaon, the Bansi Lal government was in power and his relative Ajit Singh was the local tehsildar. Kanda became close to him. You cannot dabble in such business without support from powerful people. Kanda worked with him for close to two years,” says former Haryana deputy speaker and INLD leader Gopi Chand Gehlot.
IN 1999, when Om Prakash Chautala became the chief minister, fortune smiled on Kanda. He rose to dizzying heights during this period under the alleged protection and tutelage of Abhay Chautala. The senior Chautala’s tenure also coincided with the property boom in Gurgaon. The IT sector and the call centre industry came to Gurgaon at around the same time.
Kanda made a killing in influencing the change of land use, from agriculture to residential and commercial, which was the single biggest reason behind the astronomical growth in the wealth of politicians and landholders. For example, land that was bought for Rs 25 lakh per acre in 2002 became worth more than Rs 5 crore in just three years. Till 2005, it was alleged that Kanda was Chautalas’ front man, who took care of almost every big deal that happened in the satellite city.
However, INLD leaders look away in disgust at the mere mention of Kanda’s name now. From Om Prakash Chautala downwards, they all deny that he was close to them. “He was never a member of the INLD,” says Chautala.
Kanda’s palace boasts of a helipad, gym, lawn tennis court and horse stable, and has four chandeliers worth Rs 1.5 crore eachProd another senior INLD leader a bit and he agrees that Kanda must have reaped some benefits through the Sirsa connection. “Our government came to power in 1999. People allege that he rose when we were in power. To the best of my understanding, he took advantage of the Sirsa connection. People like him very easily develop closeness.”
Kanda’s proximity to the Chautalas can be gauged from the fact that when the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government came to power in 2005, the intelligence wing of the Haryana Police was asked to investigate the source of Kanda’s wealth. According to police sources, the real purpose of the investigation was to trap the Chautalas through Kanda, who was widely known as the Chautalas’ Man Friday. In 2007, this dossier was handed over to the internal security division of the Union home ministry.
According to the dossier, “Till five years ago, Gopal Kanda and his family did not own much property. When his assets were looked into, it was found that Kanda and his family has now amassed properties worth hundreds of crores.”
Some of the properties listed in this dossier include:
• 1,125 sq yard plot in Gurgaon
• Shop/office at Old Judicial Complex, which was bought in 2005 by LKG Builders. Gopal Kanda is a director of the company
• A piece of land in Shikhohabad village bought by Nageshwar Realtors. Both Gopal and Govind Kanda are directors in the company
• 7,574 sq m hotel in Sector 14, Gurgaon, bought in 2007 by MDLR Hotels. Gopal and Govind Kanda are directors in the company
• 15 kanal agricultural land in Ramnagar village, Sirsa, in the name of Govind Kanda
• 30 kanal agricultural land in Ramnagar in Gopal Kanda’s name
• 12 kanal land in Mangalla village, Rania, bought in 2005 in the name of Kanda’s mother
According to this dossier, Kanda and his family are associated with many companies. Sources say that Kanda either owns or is a director in at least 36 companies.
It was based on this dossier that a team of Income Tax officers raided Kanda’s office and residence in 2008 to assess the value of his properties. The officers were assaulted by Kanda’s supporters and 18 of them were later arrested.
Meanwhile, Kanda ploughed back a portion of his Gurgaon riches into Sirsa. He pumped in crores for refurbishing the ashram of the late godman Baba Tara, who had a huge following in Sirsa. Kanda’s father was a devotee of Baba Tara.
Thanks to Kanda, the festival of Mahashivratri became a major attraction at the ashram in Sirsa. Every Mahashivratri, celebrities were flown in from Mumbai to perform at the ashram. In 2005, actress Hema Malini re-enacted conversations of Shiva and Parvati in a dance form. Her husband Dharmendra paid a visit to the ashram after he won the Bikaner Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket. Singers such as Anuradha Paudwal, Nishta Sharma, Gurdas Maan and Narendra Chanchal have also performed at the ashram.
IN 2006, Kanda came up with his most ambitious project yet: the launch of MDLR Airlines. In 2007, MDLR (named after his father Murli Dhar Lakh Ram) started operations as a regional airline. It is alleged that the airline operation was a joint venture between Kanda and Chautala, although this has never been substantiated.
Despite the hype surrounding the airline, Kanda couldn’t save it from folding up within two years. Failure to pay the lessors, employees and airports, violation of licence terms and an absence of safety mechanism forced the airlines to wind up operations.
“For all his riches, Kanda was only a property dealer. The entry into the aviation sector changed his outlook,” says a former MDLR staffer not wanting to be named. “From a guy who was ill at ease in sophisticated circles, he went for a complete makeover before launching the airlines. The metamorphosis of Gopal Kanda was now complete.”
“The total requirement for running MDLR was just 64 personnel. Usually, the cabin crew is 10 percent of the total strength. When MDLR was shut down, the number of air hostesses on the rolls was more than 60,” he says. “People who have dealt with Kanda say that this airlines was just a front to keep politicians and bureaucrats happy.”
By the time the MDLR Airlines shut down in 2009, Kanda’s relationship with the Chautalas had hit rock bottomA business associate describes Kanda as a man with “animal magnetism”. “Kanda is crafty. Very clever. He is really blessed when it comes to networking. And see if anybody who can outmanoeuvre the Chautalas, then you can imagine how good he must be in his dealings,” he says.
Kanda had two casinos in Goa — Mint Club and Casino Rio, which was a floating casino. Casino Rio’s licence expired after a year. Kanda spent close to Rs 5 crore each on these ventures. Not many know that he also owns a casino in Nepal. Model Nupur Mehta, who was linked to the cricket match-fixing scandal, worked at MDLR as vice-president, communications.
As MDLR Airlines bled money, his relationship with the Chautalas turned sour. People close to Kanda say that after the launch of the airlines, he was under severe financial constraints. Apparently, the Chautalas also sensed that Kanda was doing a few deals of his own, which were hurting their interests. They started withdrawing money from Kanda. Sources close to Chautalas say that Kanda had indeed swindled a huge amount of money in the land deals.
By the time the airline shut down in 2009, Kanda’s relationship with the Chautalas had hit rock bottom. The final nail in the coffin was the denial of the INLD ticket to Kanda from Sirsa (City) constituency. Kanda contested the election as an independent. He spared no expense in the campaigning and won by defeating five-time Congress MLA LD Arora. Destiny smiled on him like never before.
Kanda’s electoral success stunned the Chautalas, more so because of the kind of opening it created for him.
The 2009 verdict was a hung Assembly with the Congress getting 40 seats, six short of majority. A great deal of drama ensued in Sirsa when Kanda alleged that his life was under threat. He was airlifted out of the town under heavy police protection. Kanda roped in the support of six other independent MLAs and a few hours of intense negotiations later, he got a plum posting in the Congress-led Hooda Cabinet. Despite facing 10 criminal cases, Kanda was now the home minister of Haryana.
“Though he was the home minister, his heart was in property,” says INLD leader Gehlot. “He got licences for six group housing schemes in upcoming sectors in Gurgaon and Manesar. Suppose, if you want to buy the licence for a group housing society, the rate per acre is fixed.
“In the property market, the slogan is who is the cheapest labour? Labour means politicians who can get a good deal for you without costing a bomb. Kanda was one of the most expensive.
Living in style Gopal Kanda’s palatial residence in Gurgaon and his fortress in Sirsa
Photos: Ankit Agarwal, Dijeshwar Singh
Photos: Ankit Agarwal, Dijeshwar Singh
A look at five projects started by Kanda in the past couple of years are indicative of the money power he had acquired. Some of the properties that have attracted attention since Kanda took over as minister are…
• A three-star hotel on Hisar road in Sirsa, which is under construction. According to Govind Kanda, this hotel would include a beer factory, a multiplex, shopping mall, etc
• MDK International School in Sirsa, which the officials claim is affiliated to Cambridge University, is built on a three-acre campus and is centrally air-conditioned
• Tara Baba Charitable Hospital and Research Centre, a multi-speciality hospital, on Rania Road in Sirsa. The hospital will be built on an area of 3 lakh sq ft
• There is also a plan to construct a temple in Sirsa, modelled on the Akshardham temple in Delhi and Gujarat
• Kanda’s Red Fort palace — Modelled on a Mughal-era palace, it is built on a 3-acre plot. According to sources close to Kanda, this palace has four chandeliers worth Rs 1.5 crore each. The palace boasts of a helipad, gym, a lawn tennis court and a horse stable
As the probe gathers steam, a lot of sordid details are emerging about how Geetika was being exploited by KandaThose close to Kanda describe his post-October 2009 phase as the most relaxed. Says a close associate, “When he became an MLA, after a long time in his career, he was really free and in command of the situation. He was no longer under anybody’s shadow. And given the political situation in Haryana, it suited him just fine. This started reflecting in his behaviour as well.”
“You have to understand his obsession with property,” he adds. “He is a failed businessman. Everything, be it shop, shoes, garment, aviation, casino, he touched turned into big failures. Property was his only success.”
Hot property Kanda’s vast business interests include a school in Sirsa and a floating casino in Goa
Photos: Dijeshwar Singh, Arvind Tengse
Photos: Dijeshwar Singh, Arvind Tengse
One of the deals under question happened in November 2011, when Hooda gave Gopal Kanda 5,200 yards right in the centre of Sirsa. Kanda pledged to build a five-star dharamshala for two castes of the Bania community — the Aggarwals and Aroras.
According to Kanda’s own admission, the land was “worth several crores” and was given at a cost of Rs 2,000 per sq yard. His political rivals claim that the present land value is at least Rs 1 lakh per sq yard. Govind Kanda admitted that the land was transferred in his brother’s name and “the land would be sold at market rates and the gains accrued would be used to register the land in the name of the charitable trust and build the five-star dharamshala”.
The rise in position and power also saw Kanda having several brushes with the law. If he was aggressive before becoming the home minister, his aggression touched new heights after 2009. He always travelled with a posse of 21 commandos.
At a rally, Kanda had a public spat with Sirsa MP Ashok Tanwar. The situation became so volatile that Chief Minister Hooda had to rebuke Kanda in full public view. Later, a sulking Kanda did a disappearing act by leaving his security and official car at the guest house in Hisar. Hooda had to depute two senior ministers to placate Kanda.
In 2010, Kanda was caught on camera using abusive language and instigating his personal staff to fire at shopkeepers of Subhash Chowk market in Sirsa. The shopkeepers had pulled down their shutters in support of a bandh called by the INLD.
Interestingly, two days after he resigned as the home minister, the Supreme Court issued an order asking a case to be registered against him.
In July 2011, Kanda’s security guards assaulted cricketer Atul Wassan near the toll plaza on Gurgaon-New Delhi expressway. Wassan’s fault was that he had overtaken Kanda’s motorcade. Since the incident involved a well-known player, it resulted in a major embarrassment for the Hooda government and Kanda was forced to apologise.
However, it was Geetika Sharma’s suicide that put the brakes on Kanda’s roller-coaster ride. Geetika committed suicide at her Ashok Vihar residence in New Delhi on 5 August. In her suicide note, Geetika blamed Kanda and Aruna Chaddha, another executive of MDLR, for continuously harassing and torturing her mentally.
In custody Gopal Kanda’s associate Aruna Chaddha was also blamed in the suicide note
Photo: BB Yadav
Photo: BB Yadav
According to the complaint lodged by Geetika’s mother Anuradha Sharma, her daughter had joined Emirates Airlines in 2011 after quitting MDLR. However, she had to quit her job because Emirates received an email from Gurgaon Police claiming that she was a loan defaulter. This mail was allegedly sent by a fake email ID created by Kanda.
It is alleged that after this, Geetika was forced to join an MDLR subsidiary company as director in 2011, a job she quit to pursue her higher education.
Acting on the basis of the suicide note, Delhi Police arrested Aruna Chaddha on 8 August but its inaction in calling Kanda for even basic questioning, thus allowing him enough time to go underground, has come in for sharp criticism.
Kanda has been absconding ever since and his bail application has been rejected by the lower court and the Delhi High Court has reserved its order on it.
As the police investigation gathers steam, a lot of sordid details are emerging about how Geetika was being exploited by Kanda. Police sources say that her appointment letter had a clause that said she had to the meet the managing director (Kanda) every day after 5 pm, and that she had been exploited by Kanda and his associates. The police is also going through 400 pages of SMSes sent by Kanda to Geetika. They have also informed the court that Kanda had tampered with evidence at his office.
Sooner than later, Kanda will have to come out of hiding and answer some tough questions. Till then, his lofty ambitions of becoming a leader on the national stage will have to be put on hold.
Brijesh Pandey is a Special Correspondent with Tehelka.
brijesh@tehelka.com
Sai Manish is a Senior Correspondent with Tehelka.
sai.manish@tehelka.com
