Surendra Koli, who was acquitted from the Nithari killings case in October 2023 and had spent nearly 19 years in jail, died by suicide on Friday. Following his acquittal, he moved to Uttarakhand’s Haridwar where he was running a tea stall.
Surendra Koli, who was accused of the Nithari killings in 2006, took his life on Friday, as per reports by NDTV India. In February 2011, Koli had been convicted by the Supreme Court for the heinous crimes committed. However, this conviction was overturned following a curative petition in October 2023 by the Allahabad High Court in twelve cases related to the Nithari killings. The High Court acquitted him, and subsequently, in November, the Supreme Court also acquitted Koli in the last pending murder and rape case. Koli had spent nearly 19 years in jail before moving to Haridwar, Uttarakhand, following his acquittal, according to India Today.
The Nithari killings came to light after body parts of children and young adults were traced to Moninder Singh Pandher’s house in Noida’s Nithari village in December 2006. Later, the police also discovered 19 skeletons in the house. The Central Bureau of Investigation took over the case and alleged that Koli, Pandher’s domestic worker, had been raping and killing the women and girls, even eating their body parts, and, in one case, cooking them. Pandher was also acquitted by the High Court in October 2023.
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