Nithari killings 2006: How reports of cannibalism, rapes and gory murders unfolded

Trigger warning: Some readers may find details of this report disturbing. Discretion is advised.

The prime suspect in one of the most chilling murder cases of the country - Nithari killings - Surinder Koli and co-accused Maninder Singh Pandher were acquitted by the Allahabad High Court on Monday (Oct 16). Surinder Koli was acquitted by the court in 12 cases and co-accused Maninder Singh Pandher in two cases.

Surinder Koli and Moninder Singh Pandher, who were earlier awarded death sentences on the charges of murder and rape, were acquitted by the high court on the basis of lack of evidence.

Surinder Koli had 16 cases registered against him by the CBI on the charges of alleged murder, abduction, rape of women and the destruction of evidence. Theemployerof Koli, Maninder Singh Pandher, was also booked in a case of trafficking.

“The Allahabad High Court has acquitted Moninder Singh Pandher in the two appeals against him. There were a total of six cases against him. Koli has been acquitted in all appeals against him here,” said Pandher's lawyer Manisha Bhandari, while speaking to news agency ANI.

Here’s a recap of the gruesome Nithari killings which shook the nation.

2006

In December 2006, the killings first came to light after the discovery of human remains in a drain which was located near Pandher's house in the Nithari area of Noida. Pandher along with his domestic help, Koli faced charges of abduction and rape of women and children from the villages near Nithari. They were accused of committing acts of cannibalism, and then throwing their dead bodies in a drain in the locality.

On December 29, 2006, Pandher and Koli were arrested after skeletons and other things of some missing girls were discovered by the police from the drain which was located outside their house in Nithari. It was alleged that Koli had killed many girls and chopped their bodies in pieces before disposing them in the backyard outside their house.

Between 2006 and 2009, the Nithari house was visited by many CBI teams and the accused was interrogated. The police then registered 19 FIRs against Pandher and Koli in relation to the crimes committed by them against 19 different girls, and then chargesheets were filed by the CBI in 16 of them. The police cannot file chargesheets in three FIRs because the “offence couldn’t be ascertained”, stated sources.

2009

A special CBI court on February 13, 2009, convicted Koli and Pandher and sentenced them to death for the rape and killing of 14-year-old Rimpa Haldar, who was one of the various victims.

Special CBI judge Rama Jain, pronouncing the sentence, stated that the crimes committed by then 38-year-old Koli and then 55-year-old Pandher were among the rarest of rare and deserved capital punishment.

The counsel of the victim’s family Khalid Khan said that the verdict was a “slap on the face of the CBI” which earlier gave a clean chit to Pandher.

“When the first incident of abduction, rape and murder of Rimpa Haldar took place on February 8, 2005, Pandher was out of the country in Australia. The opinion formed by the CBI in all the 16 cases was based on legally admissible evidence and the result of the investigation,” said the CBI, in a press release.

2014

The mercy petitions of the duo were rejected by India's then-President Pranab Mukherjee in July 2014. However, their execution was stayed by the court in September of that year. The death sentence of Koli was commuted to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court in September 2014. The families of the victims challenged the matter.

2015

Surender Koli's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in January 2015 by the Allahabad High Court on the basis of “inordinate delay” in the decision of his mercy petition. A division bench, which comprised of Justice P K S Baghel and Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, held that the execution of the death sentence of Koli would be “unconstitutional in view of the inordinate delay” in the decision regarding his mercy petition.

2017

In Ghaziabad, a CBI special court awarded a death sentence to Surendra Koli and Moninder Singh Pandher in connection with one of the killing cases. The sentence was pronounced by the court in the case of rape and killing of a 25-year-old help.

This was the ninth among the cases in which the court had convicted Koli. This was also the third case in which the court had convicted both Koli and Pandher.

The court was informed by the CBI that the victim, who was a domestic help, had been missing from October 12, 2006. The police had identified her through her clothes found among the human remains in the area behind the house of Pandher, said the agency.

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2022

A special CBI court in Ghaziabad awarded the death penalty to Surinder Koli. The death sentence was announced by the court in connection with killing charges against the accused. Seven years of imprisonment was awarded by the judge to Moninder Singh Pandher in the case, along with a fine of Rs 62,000 on Koli and Rs 4,000 on Pandher, said officials.

Meanwhile, Koli was held guilty of destroying proof of crime, conspiracy, murder and rape, and Pandher faced accusations of immoral trafficking. Death sentences were handed to Koli in more than 10 cases earlier. Pandher was also sentenced to death by the court in three cases.

(With inputs from agencies)

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