Surendra Koli, who was acquitted by the Supreme Court last year in connection with the notorious 2006 Nithari serial killings in Noida, was found dead on Friday. Koli, who was in his early 50s, was discovered hanging at a tea stall he had been operating in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar since his acquittal, police said. Further investigation into the death is underway.
Koli and his employer at the time, Moninder Singh Pandher, were accused in several cases involving the rape and murder of children. Both were convicted in some of the cases initially, but the Supreme Court subsequently acquitted them in all the cases.
The 2006 Nithari killings attracted widespread national and international attention after human remains were discovered in a drain behind Pandher’s house in Noida’s Nithari village. The case continues to be regarded as one of India’s major unresolved murder cases.
The November 2025 Supreme Court ruling was significant because it marked the 13th and final case against Koli. He had already been acquitted in 12 other cases, and the latest verdict meant he was no longer facing any legal proceedings linked to the killings.
In its judgment, the Supreme Court observed that the circumstantial evidence presented against Koli was not backed by adequate forensic material. The court also highlighted serious investigative shortcomings, including the failure to pursue leads concerning the alleged organ trade.
NITHARI KILLINGS
The Nithari killings came to public attention in December 2006 when children’s bones and skulls, along with clothing and slippers, were recovered from a drain behind Pandher’s residence.
At least 19 children were confirmed to have died, while the bungalow, D-5 in Noida’s Sector 31, became widely known as the “House of Horrors.”
Pandher and Koli, who worked as domestic help at the house, were arrested soon after the remains were discovered.
The Central Bureau of Investigation later took charge of the investigation and registered several cases against Koli, accusing him of crimes including murder, abduction, rape and destruction of evidence. Pandher faced charges in a separate case concerning immoral trafficking.
From 2009 to 2017, Koli was convicted in 12 cases involving the rape and murder of children and was sentenced to death.
Koli came close to being executed in 2007, but his death sentence was halted at the last moment after the then Chief Justice of India intervened following a petition, giving him another chance at life.
