- The Nithari murder case is one of the most notorious incidents in Noida that sent shockwaves across the country.
- The serial killings took place at Moninder Singh Pandher’s home in the Nithari area of Uttar Pradesh’s Noida between 2005 and 2006.
- The incident came to light in December 2006 when skeletons were found in a drain near a house in Nithari village in Noida.
- Several families of the Nithari victims shifted elsewhere over the years as they could not bear to live near the house where the alleged brutalities took place.
- The Allahabad High Court on Monday acquitted key accused Surendra Koli and his co-accused Moninder Singh Pandher in the Nithari murder case.
- Their death sentences stand canceled.
- According to the court, the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Seventeen years after the killing of women and children in Noida’s Nithari stunned the nation, with the discovery of bones and other human remains around what was described as a “house of horrors”, the main accused, Surinder Koli has been cleared of all charges. He was acquitted in 12 cases by the Allahabad High Court today.
His employer Moninder Singh Pandher, co-accused in the case, was also acquitted in two cases. Surinder Koli and Moninder Singh Pandher, who were convicted of rape and murder, were acquitted over lack of evidence, said officials.
The serial killings took place at Moninder Pandher’s home in the Nithari area of Uttar Pradesh’s Noida between 2005 and 2006, according to the CBI. Surinder Koli worked as a help at Pandher’s home, which was dubbed by many as the “house of horrors” after the revelations. Koli would lure the children into the house, where he and Pandher raped and murdered them, it was alleged.
The police said they would chop up the bodies of the children and throw the parts in drains to destroy the evidence.
The discovery of the body parts of a missing child in a drain near Pandher’s home led to a massive investigation that revealed the identities of more victims. Disturbing allegations of murder, mutilation, and even cannibalism held the nation’s attention for weeks and months.
The incident came to light in December 2006 when skeletons were found in a drain near a house in Nithari village in Noida. Upon investigation, Koli and his employer Pandher were taken into custody over the disappearance of one of the victims. After Koli’s confession, the police started digging up the nearby land area and discovered the children’s bodies.
The case was soon handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which registered 16 cases, charge sheeting Surinder Koli in all of them for murders, abductions, and rapes besides destruction of evidence, and Pandher in one for immoral trafficking. The police said there were a series of gruesome murders of several more children, after which the case was taken over by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI filed 19 cases against Pandher and Koli in 2007.
Surinder Koli was found guilty of rape and murder of several children at his employer’s house. Koli had earlier confessed to having sex with the dead victims and also eating their body parts. The duo was also convicted of rape and murder of a 20-year-old woman.
Two policemen were also suspended for failing to take action despite being informed about a number of children missing.
The ‘sealed’ 435-square meter house – where the horrific killings took place – still stands at D-5, Sector 31 in Noida, however, it is ransacked and almost every other item inside is missing.
Several families of the Nithari victims shifted elsewhere over the years as they could not bear to live near the house where the alleged brutalities took place. Reportedly, most of the victim families were migrants from West Bengal and Bihar who had come to NCR in search of a livelihood.
(With inputs from agencies)
