Surendra Koli, acquitted in Nithari killings, dies by suicide in Haridwar

Surendra Koli, who was acquitted in all the criminal cases linked to the 2006 Nithari killings, allegedly died by suicide in Haridwar, months after the Supreme Court ended the last pending case against him. Koli was found hanging inside a tea stall on Sapt Sarovar Road, near Lal Mata Temple, in Haridwar on Friday. After his death, focus has now shifted on the whereabouts of Moninder Singh Pandher, Koli's then employer and a businessman.Pandher and Koli had originally faced convictions in multiple Nithari cases. However, the Allahabad High Court acquitted both in 2023, while the Supreme Court later dealt with Koli's remaining conviction and ordered his release in November 2025.VIDEO | Nithari serial killings accused Moninder Singh Pandher walked out of Luksar jail in Greater Noida today, three days after he was acquitted in the case. The 65-year-old businessman got into a car and drove off without speaking to anyone.#nitharicase pic.twitter.com/1P2zM0GpAQ— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 20, 2023 Where Is Moninder Singh Pandher Now? Moninder Singh Pandher was released from Luksar Jail in Greater Noida on October 20, 2023, after the Allahabad High Court acquitted him in the Nithari cases for lack of evidence. Following his release, Pandher relocated to Chandigarh and has been living with his family there, reported The Hindu. A later report also said that he had moved back to his family home in Chandigarh and was involved in a fertiliser business in Badaun, which he managed before he was jailed.Surinder Koli, Main Accused In 2006 Nithari Serial Killings Case, Dies By Suicide In His Haridwar Tea ShopDetails On Koli's Death According to initial reports, Koli had been living in Haridwar's SIDCUL area and had started running the tea stall only three days ago. His Aadhaar card was reportedly recovered from the spot and used to establish his identity. Police have taken his body for post-mortem and are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.No suicide note has been recovered so far. Police have also contacted Koli's brother as cops piece together his recent movements and circumstances. Authorities are yet to establish the exact cause and circumstances of his death. Koli's death comes less than a year after the Supreme Court acquitted him in the final Nithari case pending against him. On November 11, 2025, the apex court allowed his curative petition and set aside his conviction in the case involving the murder of Rimpa Haldar. The court noted that Koli had already been acquitted in 12 companion prosecutions based on the same evidentiary foundation.The Nithari killings came to light in December 2006 after human remains were recovered from a drain near a house in Sector 31, Noida, owned by businessman Moninder Singh Pandher. Koli, who worked as domestic help at the house, and Pandher were later arrested in connection with multiple cases. Koli's death has now brought fresh attention to the long-running Nithari case, nearly two decades after the killings first came to light.

Nithari case accused Surendra Koli died by suicide at his tea shop in the Bhupatwala area of Haridwar on Friday. Police reached the spot, took his body into custody and launched an investigation.Who was Surinder Koli?Surinder Koli, the domestic help at the centre of the infamous Nithari serial killings case, spent nearly two decades in prison after being accused and convicted in a series of murders that shocked the country.The case came to light in December 2006 when skeletal remains, including those of children, were recovered from an open drain and an area near D-5, the house of businessman Moninder Singh Pandher, in Nithari village, Noida. Several women and children had reportedly gone missing from the area in the preceding months.VIDEO | Haridwar, Uttarakhand: Surendra Koli, an accused in the Nithari case, was found dead in the Bhupatwala area. Police said he allegedly died by suicide.Koli had reportedly been living in Bhupatwala and running a tea stall for the past few days.Police reached the spot,… pic.twitter.com/9AYUkXh6Eb— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 18, 2026 Koli, who worked as Pandher's domestic help, was arrested during the investigation. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) subsequently took over the probe. A series of separate cases were registered, with Koli eventually facing 13 prosecutions linked to the killings.Trial courts convicted Koli in multiple cases and sentenced him to death. His conviction in the murder of 15-year-old Rimpa Haldar was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2011, although his death sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment in 2015.However, the prosecution's case began to unravel. In October 2023, the Allahabad High Court acquitted Koli in 12 cases, holding that the evidence, including his alleged confession and recoveries of human remains, was legally unreliable. The Supreme Court upheld those acquittals in July 2025.Surinder Koli, Main Accused In 2006 Nithari Serial Killings Case, Dies By Suicide In His Haridwar Tea ShopKoli's final conviction remained in the Rimpa Haldar case. In November 2025, the Supreme Court, exercising its curative jurisdiction, set aside its earlier conviction and acquitted him in the last pending case. The court held that allowing the conviction to stand when the same evidence had been rejected in the other cases would result in a miscarriage of justice.The Supreme Court ordered his immediate release if he was not wanted in any other case, bringing Koli's long legal battle in the Nithari killings to an end.About Nithari Case:In December 2006, skeletal remains of eight children were first found in a drain behind businessman Moninder Singh Pandher’s house in Nithari. Further searches in the area uncovered additional remains, bringing the total number of bodies linked to the case to 19. The victims were mostly poor children and young women who had gone missing from the surrounding locality. The gruesome discovery triggered nationwide outrage and led to the arrest of Pandher and his domestic help, Surinder Koli. The CBI later took over the investigation and registered cases involving 19 alleged victims.The investigation also faced questions over a possible organ-trade angle. A high-level committee of the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development had flagged the possibility and recommended that it be investigated. The Allahabad High Court, while acquitting Koli in 12 cases in 2023, criticised investigators for failing to properly examine the possible involvement of organised organ trafficking. The court noted that a doctor living in a neighbouring house had reportedly been a suspect in an earlier kidney-transplant scam, but investigators did not adequately pursue that lead. However, the courts did not establish that the Nithari victims were actually killed for organ trafficking. If you or anyone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, seek help here: | Mental Health Helplines |

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

Koli spent nearly 19 years in jail till the Supreme Court held him not guilty in the last pending matter in the murder and rape case.

His death comes less than a year after the Supreme Court acquitted him in the last of the cases filed against him, leading to his release from prison.

Surendra Koli, acquitted in Nithari serial killing case, dies by suicide, say police