Surendra Koli found dead. India still asks: Who killed Nithari's children?

Surendra Koli, who was acquitted last year in the infamous 2006 Nithari serial killings, was found dead in Haridwar. It has reopened a haunting question that has lingered for two decades: Who killed Nithari's children?

The Nithari serial killings in Noida, a case seared into public memory for its horrific crimes and disappearance of children, is back in the spotlight after Surendra Koli, acquitted last year, was found dead on Friday. Koli, once branded the 'Monster of Nithari', was found hanging at a tea stall in Haridwar. Between Koli's journey from D-5 in Nithari, the address that became known as Noida's 'house of horrors', to Haridwar lies a haunting question that has lingered for two decades - Who killed Nithari's children?

To understand the endless twists and turns in the case, let me take you back to 2005. Nithari in Noida's Sector 31 was then a quiet, sparsely populated suburb that housed both an affluent enclave and slums. That year, residents began to report instances of children and young women going missing. Complaints were filed with the police, but the investigation remained slow. This later came back to haunt the prosecution.

BUNGALOW D-5: THE 'HOUSE OF HORRORS'

A turning point came in 2006. First, a human hand was found by children playing in an enclosed space between D-5 and its adjacent property D-6.

In May that year, a man lodged a police complaint about his missing daughter. He claimed she was last seen near D-5, which was owned by businessman Moninder Singh Pandher. Koli was his domestic help.

An FIR was lodged only in June after the man protested near the house of a senior Uttar Pradesh police officer. The police were stirred into action.

The missing woman's phone was found with a local rickshaw puller. He claimed to have received it from Koli. Koli was arrested but soon released on bail.

In December 2006, skeletal remains, clothing, and footwear of children were discovered during routine drain cleaning in the lane behind bungalow D5. Overall, the remains of 17 bodies were found.

On December 29, Pandher and Koli were arrested. The arrests revealed a macabre tale of horrific crimes, straddling everything from paedophilia to necrophilia. The police alleged that Pandher and Koli killed and dismembered women and children, and some were even raped.

The spine-chilling revelations triggered national outrage, prompting the government to hand over the case to the CBI.

The parents of the victims, who were mostly from the neighbouring slums, accused the police of turning a blind eye to complaints that children had been going missing for more than two years. In fact, the first FIR in the case, about a missing 20-year-old woman, was registered in 2006 only after the police were rebuked by the court.

Even weeks after the arrests of Pandher and Koli, more human remains and skulls continued to be unearthed from multiple other spots in Nithari.

DEATH SENTENCE AND THEN ACQUITTAL

In all, Noida Police filed 19 FIRs against Pandher and Koli. The CBI filed charge sheets in 16 of them.

Between 2009 and 2017, Koli was convicted by a special CBI court in 13 cases and sentenced to death. Pandher was convicted in two cases and sentenced to death.

However, appeals filed by Koli and Pandher brought the entire investigation into the case under the scrutiny of the Allahabad High Court. In October 2023, the High Court found serious flaws after examining the prosecution's evidence. It opened a can of worms.

The High Court declared that the investigation was botched. Subsequently, it overturned the death sentences and acquitted Koli in 12 cases and Pandher in both the cases filed against him.

Behind the judgment were two vital observations. The court said Koli's confession, the key basis behind his conviction, was inadmissible. The court noted that the confession was extracted after prolonged, unauthorised police custody (60 days) without adequate legal safeguards. It violated his fundamental rights, the High Court said.

Secondly, the High Court said the prosecution failed to prove that the recovery of skulls and human remains from the "open, public" drain was made solely based on Koli's disclosure.

Thirdly, the court found that the evidence against Pandher was insufficient.

While Pandher was now a free bird, Koli still faced conviction in one case - the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl named Rimpa Haldar.

Separately, the CBI, along with the Uttar Pradesh government and the victims' families, challenged their acquittal before the Supreme Court. In June 2025, the Supreme Court upheld the acquittal of Koli and Pandher.

But it threw up an anomaly. While Koli was acquitted in 12 cases, he remained convicted in one case that was based on the same evidence.

In November 2025, the Supreme Court exercised its curative jurisdiction and acquitted Koli of all charges in the final case. The top court said since the evidence used in the 12 other cases was rejected, upholding conviction in the final case would constitute a "manifest miscarriage of justice".

Koli eventually walked out of Noida's Luksar district jail on November 12, 2025. He was now a free man. Subsequently, he shifted to Haridwar, where he was reportedly running a tea stall. His death has again brought back the haunting question. Did ghosts kill Nithari's children?

- Ends