Nithari Killings case: The Allahabad High Court on Monday acquitted Surendra Koli, the prime suspect in the 2005-2006 Noida serial murders case, infamously known as the Nithari killings, in 12 cases. Koli was awarded death sentences in all the 12 cases.
The High Court also acquitted co-accused Moninder Singh Pandher in two cases in which he was given death sentences by the trial court. Manisha Bhandari, lawyer of Nithari case convict Moninder Singh Pandher, told reporters in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh that Pandher has been acquitted in two appeals against him.
There were a total of 6 cases against Pandher and the trial court had sentenced him to death in two of them. Koli has been acquitted in all the 12 appeals against him.
“Allahabad High Court has acquitted Moninder Singh Pandher in the two appeals against him. There were a total of 6 cases against him. Koli has been acquitted in all appeals against him here,” Manisha Bhandari, lawyer of Nithari case convict Moninder Singh Pandher, told reporters in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
Following the Allahabad High Court order, the death sentence of both Koli and Pandher stand cancelled.
The Nithari case pertains to the serial killings that took place at Moninder Singh Pandher’s home in Noida’s Nithari village area between 2005 and 2006. The prime accused Surinder Koli was Pandher’s domestic help.
The killings surfaced after locals found body parts of a missing child in a drain near Pandher’s home. As the investigation moved, more skeletons were recovered from Pandher’s house.