May 10 (IANS): A Delhi Court Friday framed charges against ex-Haryana minister Gopal Goyal Kanda for raping and abetting the suicide of former flight attendant Geetika Sharma.

District Judge S.K. Sarvaria also framed charges of abeting rape and suicide of Geetika against Kanda's employee Aruna Chaddha.

They have also been charged with criminal conspiracy, forgery under the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act for hacking of computer and sending offensive or false messages.

"Prima facie charges under sections 306 (abetment of suicide), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 468 (forgery with intention to cheat), 469 (forgery with intention to harm reputation) and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) are made out against Gopal Kanda and Aruna Chadha," the court said.

"Further, prima facie charges under sections 376 (rape) and 377 (unnatural sex) are made out against Kanda and charge under section 376 read with 109 (abetment to rape) is made out against Chadha," said the district judge, who after framing charges, sent the matter for trial before the fast track court dealing with sexual offence cases.

The court has fixed the matter for May 27 for recording of prosecution's evidence.

From now on, the name of the victim cannot be mentioned in future as the court Friday converted the suicide case into a sexual offence case.

The Delhi Police in its chargesheet had not invoked offences of rape and unnatural sex against the accused.

Geetika, 23, was found hanging from the ceiling of a room at her Ashok Vihar house in north Delhi on August 5 last year.

She left behind two suicide notes blaming Kanda and Chaddha, a former official in Kanda's now-defunct MDLR Airlines where Geetika had worked. Both are now in judicial custody and have denied any involvement in the suicide.