Nithari victim's father questions Surendra Koli's 'suicide', alleges murder

• Surendra Koli, who was acquitted in all 13 Nithari-related cases, was found hanging at his rented tea stall in Haridwar; police said the death appeared prima facie to be suicide and are investigating.

• Jhabbu Lal, whose 15-year-old daughter was among the Nithari victims, rejected the suicide theory and alleged that Koli had been murdered.

• Koli spent years on death row after convictions in several Nithari cases, but the Supreme Court acquitted him in the final case in 2025, stressing that suspicion cannot substitute for proof beyond reasonable doubt.

The father of a 15-year-old girl who was among the young victims of the 2006 Nithari killings on Friday, 18 September questioned the death of Surendra Koli in Haridwar, alleging that the former accused was murdered and did not die by suicide.

"Surendra Koli has been murdered; he has not died by suicide," said Jhabbu Lal (64), whose daughter was among the children who disappeared from Nithari and was later identified as one of the deceased.

Koli was found hanging at a rented tea stall on Sapt Sarovar Road in Haridwar on Friday. Police said a forensic team examined the scene and the death appeared prima facie to be a case of suicide. His body has been taken into custody and panchanama and post-mortem proceedings are underway.

Lal, however, questioned why Koli would have taken such a step after spending several months outside prison following his release. "If he had died by suicide in jail, it could be understood that he was depressed. But he took his life after being released and spending several months outside? This raises questions," he said.

"He would have been about to disclose some important information. That is why he has been killed," Lal alleged, without providing evidence to support the claim.

Lal also disputed the role attributed to Koli in the Nithari killings, saying businessman Moninder Singh Pandher, at whose Sector 31 house Koli worked as a domestic help, was the main accused. "Koli was not the main culprit. His owner Moninder Pandher was the main accused in the case. He should be hanged," Lal said.

Lal and his wife Sunita (61) have spent nearly two decades seeking justice for their daughter. The couple, originally from Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district, moved to Nithari around four decades ago in search of work. Lal earned a living ironing clothes for residents in the area. "If the government helps us, only then will we be able to continue our fight in future. We can't fight on our own," Lal said.

The Nithari case came to light in December 2006 after skeletal remains, skulls and bones were recovered from the vicinity of Pandher's D-5 bungalow in Sector 31, Noida. The discovery followed the disappearance of several children and young women from the neighbourhood and triggered nationwide outrage.

Koli, who was 30 when he was arrested in 2006, was convicted in several cases arising from the killings and sentenced to death. Pandher was also convicted in some of the cases, though his convictions were later overturned.

Koli was eventually acquitted in all 13 cases linked to the Nithari killings. The Supreme Court in 2025 acquitted him in the last remaining case, involving the alleged rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl.

While allowing Koli's curative petition in that case, the Supreme Court said criminal law does not permit a conviction based on conjecture or a hunch. It held that suspicion, however grave, cannot substitute for proof beyond reasonable doubt and noted that the identity of the actual perpetrator had not been established to the required legal standard.

Koli was subsequently released from Luksar District Jail in Greater Noida following the court proceedings. He later moved to Haridwar, where he had been living for some time and running a tea stall.

With PTI inputs