IANS/New Delhi
Aruna Chaddha, an accused in former flight attendant Geetika Sharma’s suicide case, was yesterday sent to judicial custody for a day by a Delhi court which rejected a police plea for her three-day custody.Investigators had sought police remand of the official of the now-defunct MDLR Airlines and Sharma’s colleague to bring her face-to-face with co-accused, her employer and Haryana’s former minister Gopal Goyal Kanda, whose brain mapping was being considered by interrogators.Metropolitan magistrate Vipin Kharb extended Chaddha’s judicial custody till today and told Delhi police they could move a fresh application for her interrogation.The court rejected the investigators’ application for her remand saying they had failed to show any documents related to the recovery of any computer hard disks from her office or home. “Despite being given an opportunity, police could not produce any documents to show they have recovered the hard disk. The police application seeking custody of the accused is hereby dismissed,” the court said.The police told the court that the recovery documents could not be placed before it as these were with the investigation team which had gone with Kanda to search his Gurgoan office.Chaddha was arrested on August 8 and remained in police custody till August 16. After that the court sent her to judicial custody.The court on August 18 issued a production warrant against Chaddha while sending Kanda to seven days’ police custody. He had surrendered before police earlier the same day.The police had sought Chaddha’s custody to question her on the two hard disks recovered after Kanda’s arrest. Investigators told court that Chaddha’s custody was also required to question her on the statement given by Kanda during interrogation.Kanda was earlier on the run since August 8 after Sharma, 23, accused him and Chaddha, of harassing her and forcing her to commit suicide. She died on the night of August 4-5 at her house in north Delhi’s Ashok Vihar. Police told reporters that Kanda would undergo brain mapping. Deputy commissioner of police P Karunakaran said: “If required, we will do that. We will take him to all places where we feel probe is required.” Kanda owned the MDLR Airlines where Sharma worked as a flight attendant.