20 Years After the Nithari Killings, Surinder Koli Is a Free Man — Victims’ Families Ask, If Not Them, Then Who?

Key Points:

The horrific Nithari serial murder case, which occurred nearly two decades ago, is now officially closed. In 2006, businessman Moninder Singh Pandher and his house aide, Surinder Koli, were accused of involvement in a gruesome and spine-chilling crime. The skeletal remains of around 22 children were discovered in a drain behind Pandher’s house, shocking the entire nation.

Fast forward to the present: both men, once convicted of rape, murder and allegations of cannibalism are now free. On 12 November 2025, almost twenty years after the petrifying Noida Sector 31 killings, the Supreme Court acquitted the prime accused, Surinder Koli. This was the last remaining case against him; with this verdict, Koli has been cleared of all charges due to lack of evidence.

The families of the victims, who have been waiting for justice for nearly two decades, have raised several questions. The final case in which Koli was acquitted pertained to the rape and murder of a teenage girl. Reacting to the verdict, the victim’s mother asked, “Did ghosts kill our children?”

Koli was released from Kasna Jail in Greater Noida on Wednesday, a day after the Supreme Court acquitted him. This case marked the last of the serial-killing-related charges against him.

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The apex court’s controversial decision came after Koli filed a curative petition—his final legal recourse to challenge his conviction. With Koli’s acquittal, the chapter of the Nithari murders has come to an end. His co-accused, Moninder Singh Pandher, had already been acquitted of all charges in 2023. 

With the case being held on  tip of the scale for years, families of the victims have been left with an unending void— if not them, then who?

What was the Nithari Killing case?

The series of murders came to light when two residents of Nithari village pointed authorities to a spot where they believed the remains of missing children had been seen. These children had gone missing before December 2006.

The location was a municipal water tank behind a house owned by Moninder Singh Pandher of Uttarakhand — a house that later came to be known as the “house of horrors.” Suspicion soon fell on Surinder Koli, Pandher’s domestic help at D5, Sector 31, Greater Noida.

Many villagers believed Koli was involved in the disappearance of the children. One day, the then Resident Welfare Association (RWA) president, S.C. Mishra, accompanied the two residents whose children had also gone missing. Their search took a horrifying turn when they found a decomposed hand at the site.

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What followed shocked the entire nation. Investigators unearthed bones, skulls, children’s clothes, and slippers from the drain behind Pandher’s bungalow. Koli and Pandher were arrested immediately after the discovery. The case was later handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which ultimately filed 16 cases in connection with the Nithari killings.

The Confession, the ‘House of Horrors,’ and the Investigation

The gruesome crimes behind Pandher’s bungalow were not taken seriously at first, even after multiple complaints about missing children. Two police officers were suspended for failing to act despite repeated warnings.

Koli later confessed to killing six children and a 20-year-old woman after sexually assaulting them. His confession was recorded before a magistrate.

This set off a series of trials between 2009 and 2017. The CBI filed multiple cases. Surinder Koli was eventually convicted by the Ghaziabad trial court in 13 cases and sentenced to death. Pandher was also sentenced to death in two cases. While the High Court upheld Koli’s conviction, it acquitted Pandher of all charges.

The key evidence in the Nithari killings was Koli’s confession and the recovery of skeletal remains. The curative petition green lighted by the Supreme Court recently was related to the case of a minor girl who went missing in 2005. Based on the confession and the remains, the Ghaziabad court deemed the Nithari killings “the rarest of the rare.” Between 2010 and 2021, Koli received death sentences in serial murder cases, and Pandher was convicted in two.

Why was Surinder Koli acquitted in the Nithari killings?

In 2023, both Pandher and Koli were acquitted in all 12 cases by the Allahabad High Court. The court found that Koli’s confession — the central piece of evidence — was unreliable.

It noted that the confession was recorded while Koli had been in police custody for 60 days without access to a lawyer. The High Court also pointed out that the magistrate failed to ensure that the confession was made voluntarily.

Additionally, no forensic evidence was found inside Pandher’s house, further weakening the prosecution’s case.

The last remaining case — the 13th conviction, which was based on the same evidence — was finally overturned in 2025, bringing the long-running legal saga to an end.

The evidence was ruled inconsistent in the 13th Nithari case, with the court stating that upholding a conviction on the basis of evidence already dismissed in other cases was questionable. The Supreme Court expressed regret for the pain and suffering faced by the victims’ families over the past two decades. The bench, comprising Chief Justice N.R. Gavai, Justice Surya Kant, and Justice Vikram Nath, agreed with the findings of the Allahabad High Court.

“It is a matter of deep regret that despite a prolonged investigation, the identity of the actual perpetrator has not been established in a manner that meets legal standards,” the CJI-led bench stated.

Questions surrounding the Nithari killings still remain. There is a heavy silence over the lack of justice the victims’ families have received even after 20 years of waiting. The acquittal has led families to ask: Who killed the children? “Pandher had admitted to his crime before the police. If Koli is not responsible for it, and if Pandher is not responsible for it, why were they jailed for all these years?” a victim’s family member asked.

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