Surendra Koli, the man at the center of the Nithari killings, was found hanging in his tea stall on Sapt Sarovar Road in Haridwar, police said on Friday. The 57‑year‑old, who had worked as a domestic helper at the Noida house of businessman Moninder Singh Pandher, is believed to have taken his own life. The Haridwar Kotwali police station received the report from the Saptarishi outpost and dispatched a forensic team to the site.
Koli had been the only convict in the 2006 Nithari mass‑killings case, but the Supreme Court acquitted him in 2025 after a curative petition challenged his conviction in a rape‑murder case involving a 15‑year‑old girl. He had previously been acquitted in 12 other related cases. Despite the acquittals, the case remains a national shock, having exposed the disappearance and murder of children and women in the Noida area.
Sub‑Inspector Vikram Bisht said the body was in police custody and that post‑mortem and panchanama procedures were underway. Circle officer Shishupal Singh Negi noted that Koli had been running a tea stall on rent in Mangrukhal, Almora, for some time. The forensic team confirmed the death appeared to be a suicide.
The Nithari case first emerged in 2006 when skeletal remains were found in the backyard and drains of Pandher’s bungalow in Sector 31, Noida. The discovery sparked nationwide outrage and terrorised the local community. Pandher, a co‑accused, was released from jail in October 2023 after being acquitted. The Supreme Court’s bench, led by Chief Justice B R Gavai, emphasized that conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt and that the presumption of innocence must prevail, even in cases involving heinous crimes.
