Surinder Koli, who was once labelled the “Monster of Nithari”, and was acquitted in the sensational 2006 killings case, has died by suicide.
Koli was found dead under suspicious circumstances in Haridwar. After being acquitted by the Supreme Court last year, Koli had been working as a tea vendor in Haridwar for some time.
His body was found hanging from a rope inside the tea stall. The police have informed his family in Almora and have initiated an investigation.
The Sapt Rishi police outpost (under the City Kotwali) received information that a man had hanged himself in a tea stall located opposite the Lalmata Temple on Sapt Sarovar Road.
Police arrived at the scene and identified him as Surinder Koli, who was an accused in the infamous Nithari killings case.
Preliminary investigations revealed that he had been living in Haridwar for a few months and was running a rented tea stall. No suicide note was found at the shop, and the matter is being investigated, police said.
The Nithari Killings
In December 2006, police found 16 human skulls, bones, and clothing stuffed in plastic sacks behind a drain next to the D-5 bungalow in Sector 31.
Surinder Koli and Moninder Singh Pandher. File Photo
Locals had long complained of missing children, mostly from poor labour families, in the nearby Nithari village, but their concerns were allegedly brushed aside by the police. It was only after the disappearance of a young woman named Payal that the police traced her mobile phone to a local rickshaw puller, who claimed to have received it from someone at D-5. The house belonged to businessman Moninder Singh Pandher and Koli worked there as domestic help.
When officers reached the house, they stumbled upon evidence that would reveal what was initially believed to be a serial killing and cannibalism ring.
Rumours spread quickly that children had been lured, killed, dismembered, and even cooked. Soon after, Pandher and Koli were arrested.
Read | ‘Who Killed Our Children?’ Families Of Victims After ‘Nithari Monster’ Acquitted
The Botched Up Probe And Acquittals
Both Koli and Pandher were charged with rape, murder and destruction of evidence under multiple FIRs. Between 2007 and 2010, 19 cases were filed by the CBI.
Koli was sentenced to death in several cases, while Pandher received both death and life sentences in others. As the cases moved through appeals, inconsistencies and procedural lapses began to surface.
The High Court eventually acquitted both men in October 2023, citing lack of credible evidence. The CBI, along with the Uttar Pradesh government and the victims’ families, challenged the decision before the Supreme Court.
In 2025, the Supreme Court also acquitted Koli of all charges. While acknowledging the “heinous nature” of the crimes, the court said that “suspicion, however grave, cannot replace proof beyond reasonable doubt.”
