Archive · 18 Sep 2026
Surendra Koli Acquitted in Nithari Cases, Later Found Dead
Surendra Koli was accused of killing children and young women whose remains were found near a house in Nithari in 2006.
He was convicted in 13 cases and spent nearly 19 years in prison.
Courts later found serious problems with the investigation.
They questioned whether his confession was voluntary because he had spent about 60 days in police custody without proper legal help.
They also found that the recoveries of remains and other evidence were not reliably connected to him.
The Allahabad High Court cleared him in 12 cases in 2023.
The Supreme Court cleared him in the last case in November 2025 and ordered his release.
Koli later ran a tea stall in Haridwar.
Police then found him hanging there, although the circumstances remained under investigation.
Surendra Koli was acquitted in all 13 Nithari killings cases after nearly 19 years in prison.
The Supreme Court of India overturned his final conviction on November 11, 2025, citing serious flaws in the investigation and evidence.
Courts questioned Koli’s confession, which followed about 60 days in police custody, and criticized alleged coercion, inadequate legal assistance, and missing medical safeguards.
The Allahabad High Court acquitted Koli in 12 cases in 2023, while the Supreme Court dismissed appeals against those acquittals in July 2025.
Police found Koli hanging at his Haridwar tea stall; suicide was suspected, but no note was found and forensic and post-mortem examinations were pending.
- Who
- Surendra Koli, the principal accused in the Nithari killings; Moninder Singh Pandher was his employer and co-accused.
- What
- Koli was acquitted in all 13 cases after courts found the prosecution evidence unreliable; he was later found hanging at his tea stall.
- When
- The remains were discovered on December 29, 2006; Koli was acquitted in 12 cases in October 2023 and in the final case on November 11, 2025. The article says he was found dead on Friday, September 18, but does not provide a year, creating a chronology conflict with his November 2025 release.
- Where
- The alleged crimes centered on House D-5 in Nithari, Noida. Koli was released from Kasna Jail in Greater Noida and was later found at a tea stall outside Lal Mata temple in Haridwar.
- Why
- The courts found major defects involving Koli’s confession, alleged coercion, police custody, evidence recoveries, forensic support, and the broader investigation.
Prosecution Narrative
Defense and Court Findings
Confession
Prosecution Narrative
The prosecution relied heavily on a detailed confession in which Koli allegedly described luring, sexually assaulting, killing, dismembering, and disposing of victims.
Defense and Court Findings
The defense and courts said the confession was undermined by about 60 days of police custody, inadequate legal assistance, alleged torture and tutoring, and the absence of timely medical examination.
Recovery of remains
Prosecution Narrative
Investigators treated the discovery of remains as recoveries made on the basis of information Koli allegedly provided.
Defense and Court Findings
Courts found that the area had not been properly secured, remains were already known or being excavated, and the disclosures and remand records were inadequately documented.
Location and forensic evidence
Prosecution Narrative
The prosecution argued that the crimes occurred at or around House D-5 and relied on alleged recoveries of weapons and remains.
Defense and Court Findings
The courts noted the absence of bloodstains or other independent evidence inside the house, found the weapons insufficiently connected to the crimes, and said the cannibalism theory lacked forensic support.
Alternative explanations
Prosecution Narrative
The prosecution case focused on Koli as the person responsible for the killings and did not establish the alternative organ-trade theory.
Defense and Court Findings
The Allahabad High Court criticized investigators for failing to examine an organ-trade possibility raised by a government committee, while also stating that the doctor next door and any organ-trafficking network were not proven to be involved.
- Victims linked to investigation
- The remains of 19 people, mostly children and young women, were recovered near House D-5.
- Cases against Koli
- 13 Nithari killings cases resulting in death sentences or convictions.
- Time imprisoned
- Nearly 19 years.
- Allahabad High Court acquittals
- Koli was acquitted in 12 cases in October 2023; Moninder Singh Pandher was also acquitted in his pending cases.
- Final acquittal
- The Supreme Court of India overturned Koli’s last conviction on November 11, 2025.
- Key evidence disputed
- A confession recorded after about 60 days in police custody and recoveries allegedly based on his disclosures.
- Reported death
- Police found Koli hanging at his tea stall outside Lal Mata temple in Haridwar; no note had been found when the article was published.
