NITHARI SERIAL MURDERS

CRIME SCENE

D-5,

Sector 31,

Noida, Uttar Pradesh

CULPRITS

Moninder Singh Pandher

Age:- 55-year-old

industrialist

Surendra Koli

Cook of Moninder Singh Pandher

VICTIMS

According to the charge sheet filed in the court, there were 20 victims whose complaints were filed in the police station, but when the evidence was recovered only 17 victims were identified.

ABOUT THE CASE

Year 2003

An abnormally high number of women and children were reported to be missing from Sector 31 of the Nithari village in Noida. The fact of women and children missing from the village predated Surinder Koli’s arrival as a domestic servant of Moninder Singh Pandher who was a businessman and the owner of the bungalow number D-5 located in Sector 31 of the Nithari village. Numerous missing reports were filed to the police by the families of the victim but no action was taken.

February 2005

14 year-old-girl named Rimpa Haldar went missing from 8 February 2005. Her parents made several attempts to register a missing report of her daughter with police but were unsuccessful.

March 2005

Some boys playing cricket found a hand in the plastic bag in the drain located behind D-5. The matter was informed to the police who declaring the hand as an animal carcass, asked the villagers to forget about the incident as nothing was wrong. This can be confirmed by the statements of prosecution witness 23^[1] and 24^[2] which are available as evidence in the court records.

Facts of the case

On 7 May 2006, a girl named Payal informed her father Nand Lal about her going to Moninder Singh Pandher bungalow but after that, she went missing. Her father went to search her in D-5 where Pandher lived with his servant Koli. Pandher was not in Noida that day and Koli denied knowing anything about Payal.
Nand Lal went to the police to register a complaint of his missing daughter but police refused to register his complaint. Tired of visiting police and Pandher for one month, he approached the then Noida SSP on June 2006 for help.
On the order of the SSP, police registered Nand Lal’s complaint of his missing daughter and started their investigation. Police were able to find the fact that Payal’s mobile phone was still in use and traced its location. Checking the call details of the Payal’s number lead them to Koli who called her a day before she went missing.
Police arrested Koli for further investigation but Pandher got him released soon. Police was not able to find out anything remarkable which could guide them to the whereabouts of Payal but the involvement of Koli in the case was evident.
Upset with the police’s investigation on the case, Nand Lal approached the court on 7 October 2006. The court ordered the police to investigate the case. On investigation, police discovered lots of plastic bags filled with human skeletons from the drain located behind the bungalow.
Bungalow owner Pandher and his servant Koli got arrested on 29 December 2006. More skeletons were excavated from the drain on 30 December 2006. Not much evidence was found against both the suspects.
Mere discovery of skeletons was not sufficient to prove them murders. But the discovery created a sensation in the whole country and people started demanding justice.
Investigation of the Payal’s case open up the facts of disappeared children and teenager of Nithari. Pressurised with the public rage, Uttar Pradesh government handed over the case to the CBI on 11 January 2007.

COMPLETE TIMELINE

December 29, 2006

Nithari Killings came to light with the discovery of eight skeletal remains of children from the drain of a house in Nithari, Noida. Two suspects — owner of the house Moninder Singh Pandher and his domestic help Surinder Koli were arrested.
December 30, 2006

More skeletons tumble out of the drainage.
December 31, 2006

Two beat constables suspended as political pressure starts building up
January 05, 2007

Accused Pandher and Koli taken to Gandhinagar for extensive narco-analysis Test by Uttar Pradesh police.
January 13, 2007

Around 30 officers, mainly CBI sleuths and forensic experts, found more human remains from two drains. Over the next few days more skulls were recovered from the drains.
February 8, 2007

Special CBI court sends Pandher and Koli to 14 days of CBI custody
January 7, 2010

The Supreme Court stayed the death sentence of Surinder Koli, prime accused in the Nithari serial killings case and domestic help of businessmen Moninder Singh Pandher.
February 13, 2009

Koli was convicted and sentenced to death by a special CBI court for the rape and murder of 14-year-old Rimpa Haldar, one of the several victims of the alleged grisly killings in Nithari in 2007.
July 24, 2017

Pandher, Koli sentenced to death for serial rape and murder.

FORENSIC EVIDENCE

• Two accused were subjected to “narco-analysis” including truth drugs, polygraph tests and brain mapping at a national forensic laboratory.

• Forensic experts conducted detailed psycho-analysis of Koli to understand his Necrophiliac (having sex with corpse), Pedophilia (having sex with children) and Paraphilic tendencies.

• Forensic experts performed craniofacial reconstruction, for the skulls found.

• Various bones were found from the sewage which was on the backside of Pandhir’s residence.

• DNA testing was accomplished.

VERDICT

On 10 September 2009, the Allahabad high court acquitted Moninder Singh Pandher and overturned his death sentence.He was not named a main suspect by investigators initially, but was summoned as co-accused during the trial. Pandher faces trial in five cases out of the remaining 12, and could be re-sentenced to death if found guilty in any of those killings. The same day Pandher was acquitted, the Allahabad high court upheld the death sentence for Surinder Koli, the former domestic servant of Pandher. On 24 July 2017, both Koli and Pandher have been awarded the death sentence (case #8 out of 16) in the latest hearing by the CBI Court at Ghaziabad.

REFERENCES