India
pti-PTI
Surendra Koli, the man at the centre of the sensational Nithari killings who was subsequently acquitted in all 13 cases, was found hanging in his tea stall in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar on Friday, police said.
Surendra Koli, acquitted in all Nithari killings cases, was found dead in his Haridwar tea stall on Friday; police are investigating it as a suspected suicide. The 2006 case involving gruesome discoveries saw Koli and co-accused Moninder Singh Pandher eventually acquitted.
The Nithari case gained national attention in 2006 when skeletal remains, skulls, and bones were discovered in the backyard and drainage near a bungalow owned by businessman Moninder Singh Pandher in Sector 31, Noida.
Koli, who had worked as a domestic help at Pandher’s Noida residence, is believed to have taken his own life, according to police. Haridwar Kotwali police station Sub-Inspector Vikram Bisht told PTI that the Saptarishi police outpost received information that a man had been found dead in a tea shop on Sapt Sarovar road. The deceased was identified as Koli, a resident of Mangrukhal in Almora.
Circle Officer Shishupal Singh Negi told PTI Videos that Koli had been living in Haridwar for some time and running a tea stall on rent. “Police received information this morning that a person had allegedly hanged himself. Our forensic team reached the spot. At present, it appears to be a case of suicide. The body is in police custody, and the panchanama and post-mortem proceedings are underway,” he said.
The gruesome findings in 2006, unearthing the disappearance and killings of several children and women, had triggered nationwide outrage and terrorised the local community. Pandher, who was also a co-accused, spent years in jail before being released on October 20, 2023, after his acquittal.
Koli’s death, however, has raised questions, with the father of one of the victims claiming that it was murder, not suicide. Jhabbu Lal’s 15-year-old daughter went missing in the summer of 2005, and her skeleton was discovered in 2006, bringing her name into the list of the Nithari killings. Lal (64) questioned why Koli would take such a drastic step after spending several months outside prison following his release. “If he had died by suicide in jail, it could be understood that he was depressed. But he took his life after being released and spending several months outside? This raises questions,” he said.
Lal speculated that Koli might have been about to disclose important information, which could be why he was killed. He also claimed that Koli was not the main culprit in the Nithari case and asserted that Pandher was the main accused. “He should be hanged,” Lal insisted. “If the government helps us, only then will we be able to continue our fight in future. We can’t fight on our own,” he added. Lal and his wife Sunita (61) have spent nearly two decades seeking justice for their daughter.
The couple, originally from Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district, moved to Nithari around four decades ago looking for work. Koli was the only convict in the case and was ultimately acquitted by the Supreme Court in 2025 in the last of the Nithari cases. This was the 13th case in which Koli was acquitted; he was previously cleared in 12 other related cases. Allowing Koli’s curative petition challenging his conviction in the case related to the alleged rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in Nithari, the apex court had said criminal law does not permit conviction on conjecture or on a hunch.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath had said the offences in Nithari were heinous and the suffering of the families was beyond measure. “It is a matter of deep regret that despite prolonged investigation, the identity of the actual perpetrator has not been established in a manner that meets the legal standards,” the bench had said. It said that suspicion, however grave, cannot replace proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and the courts cannot prefer expediency over legality.
“The presumption of innocence endures until guilt is proved through admissible and reliable evidence; and when proof fails, the only lawful outcome is to set aside the conviction even in a case involving horrific crimes,” the bench had said.
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