Nithari Killings: Both Accused Acquitted after 17 Yrs, Death Penalty Cancelled

New Delhi: Surendra Koli, the prime accused in the Nithari serial killings near New Delhi, was acquitted by the Allahabad High Court on Monday in 12 cases in which he was handed death penalty by a trial court.

Moninder Singh Pandher, the co-accused in the case, has also been acquitted in two cases.

Following the High Court decision, the death sentences of both Koli and Pandher stand cancelled.

The Nithari serial killings took place at Moninder Singh Pandher’s home in the Nithari area of Uttar Pradesh’s Noida between 2005 and 2006. Surinder Koli was Pandher’s domestic help.

The case came to light when body parts of a missing child were found in a drain near Pandher’s home. Investigation revealed several gruesome murders of several more children. The CBI filed 19 cases against Pandher and Koli in 2007.

Surinder Koli was awarded the death penalty by the trial court in 12 cases.

It was alleged that Koli would lure the children into the house, where he and Pandher raped and murdered them.