In 2017, a Special CBI Court Handed Down Death Sentences to Both for the Murder of Numerous Children in Nithari Village, Noida.
BI News,Allahabad : The Allahabad High Court on Monday acquitted the infamous Nithari murder case convicts Surendra Koli in 12 cases and Moninder Singh Pandher in two cases due to lack of evidence. Both convicts were awarded the death penalty in 2017 by a special CBI court for rape and murder of several children in Nithari village of Noida. The court had also slapped a fine of ₹35,000 on Koli and ₹25,000 on Pandher.
Speaking to media persons in Prayagraj today, Pandher’s lawyer, Manisha Bhandari said, “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.”
A two-judge bench comprising Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice SHA Rizvi allowed the appeals filed by Koli and Pandher challenging the death sentence given by the CBI court in Ghaziabad.
Nithari murder case file
The case came to light in 2006 when the police discovered the skulls and bones of 16 persons, mostly children, near Pandher’s house in Noida’s Nithari village.
The investigation began after two Nithari residents claimed they knew the location of the remains of children, who had gone missing in the previous two years, and accused the local authorities of ignoring their complaints.
The UP government suspended Piyush Mordia, former SSP, Gautam Budh Nagar district; Saumitra Yadav, the then additional SP of Noida, and former circle officer Sewak Ram Yadav in 2007. Six sub-inspectors, who had earlier been suspended were also dismissed.
In the same year, Pandher and Koli were taken to Gandhinagar for an extensive narco-analysis test by Uttar Pradesh police. In 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.
On September 10, Pandher and Koli were sentenced to death by the trial court. The Allahabad High Court acquitted Pandher of the crime but confirmed Koli’s death sentence. However, in 2010, the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of Koli.
Surinder Koli’s death sentence was changed to a life sentence by the Supreme Court. A division bench comprising chief justice DY Chandrachud and justice PKS Baghel held execution of Koli’s death sentence, stating it would be “unconstitutional in view of the inordinate delay” in deciding his mercy petition.
In 2017, Moninder Singh Pandher along with his domestic help Surinder Koli was given a death sentence by the CBI court in Ghaziabad.
