Surendra Koli, acquitted in the final Nithari killings case in 2025, has been found dead in Haridwar. Police suspect suicide and are investigating.
Surendra Koli, who was acquitted in the final case linked to the 2006 Nithari killings, was found dead in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, on Friday, September 18. Police said they suspect suicide, but the cause of death remains under investigation.
Koli had been running a tea stall in Haridwar after his release from prison in November 2025. Police officer Shishupal Singh Negi said a forensic team was examining the scene. No note was found, and Koli’s body was sent for an autopsy. Police have informed his family, The Indian Express reported.
What Happened in the Nithari Case?
The Nithari case came to light in December 2006, when human remains were discovered near the Noida home of businessman Moninder Singh Pandher. Several children and women from the surrounding area had been reported missing.
Koli, who worked at Pandher’s home, was arrested along with his employer. He was later convicted in multiple cases and spent nearly 19 years in prison as the prosecutions moved through the courts.
In October 2023, the Allahabad High Court acquitted Koli in 12 cases, finding serious problems with the evidence and investigation. The Supreme Court dismissed the state’s appeals against those acquittals in July 2025.
One conviction remained. In November 2025, the Supreme Court allowed Koli’s curative petition in that case, set aside the conviction and ordered his release. The court found that it could not sustain the final conviction when the same central evidence had been rejected in the other cases. Its November 11 judgment records the acquittal and release order.
Investigation Into Death Continues
Police have not established why Koli died. The autopsy and forensic examination will inform their findings, and investigators have not announced a conclusion about a possible motive.
His death comes less than a year after he left prison following the final acquittal in a case that had drawn national attention for nearly two decades.
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