Surendra Kohli, acquitted in 2006 Nithari killings case, dies by suicide in Haridwar
Surendra Koli and his employer, Moninder Singh Pandher, were accused in several cases involving the rape and murder of children.
PTC News Desk: Surendra Kohli, who was acquitted by the Supreme Court in connection with 2006 Nithari serial killings in Noida, allegedly died by suicide in Haridwar on Friday. Koli, in his early 50s, was found hanging at a tea stall that he had been running in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar since his acquittal, police said, adding that further investigation is underway.
Surendra Koli and his employer, Moninder Singh Pandher, were accused in several cases involving the rape and murder of children. The two were convicted in some of these cases initially, but the Supreme Court later acquitted them in all the cases.
The 2006 Nithari killings made national and international headlines after human skeletons were found in a drain behind Pandher’s house in Nithari village, Noida. The case is still considered one of India’s major unsolved murder cases.
Final case against Surendra Kohli
The November 2025 verdict was important because it was the 13th and final case against Koli. He had already been acquitted in 12 other cases, and the latest acquittal cleared him of all cases related to the Nithari killings.
The Supreme Court said the circumstantial evidence against Koli was not supported by forensic evidence. The court also pointed to serious investigation lapses, including the failure to properly follow leads related to the alleged organ trade.
Nithari Killings
The killings came to light in December 2006 when bones, skulls, clothes and slippers believed to belong to children were found in a drain behind Pandher’s house. At least 19 children were confirmed dead. Pandher’s bungalow, D-5 in Sector 31, Noida, later became known as the “House of Horrors.”
Pandher and Koli, who worked as domestic help at the house, were arrested soon after the discovery.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) later took over the investigation and filed several cases against Koli, accusing him of murder, abduction, rape and destruction of evidence. Pandher was charged separately in a case related to immoral trafficking.
Between 2009 and 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. However, the then Chief Justice of India intervened after a last-minute petition and put his execution on hold.