Ghaziabad, January 25
The two main suspects in the Nithari serial killings, Moninder Singh Pandher and his servant Surendra Koli, were today subjected to mob fury when lawyers assaulted them outside a CBI court here. The CBI had presented them in the court for seeking an extension of their remand.

As the accused were being escorted out of the court of Special Judicial Magistrate, Ms Sapna Mishra, some 200 advocates thrashed the two accused.

Moninder and Surinder had been taken into the court room No 15 on the first floor at 10.25 am. It took the CBI about one-and-half hour to convince the court to extend their remand for another 14 days. Of the two accused, Moninder, being easily identified, was targeted more and fainted while Surender had managed to get away with less thrashing.

A few cops, including the CBI slueths, were seen frantically trying to save both the accused by throwing themselves over the duo to shield them from the blows of angry advocates.

The accused were then whisked away by the police and the CBI from the back door to the CBI headquarters first and then to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi.

Though Ghaziabad advocates had announced their intention to lynch the accused, the Ghaziabad police did not made adequate arrangements for the protection of the accused.

According to some observers, this could have been a handiwork of those involved in the conspiracy to escape punishment, because had Moninder and Surender been lynched, it could have silenced forever the source of disclosures of their sins.

The CBI, it is learnt, will be filing an FIR against the advocates and others involved in today's incident. The Ghaziabad SSP, Mr Navin Arora, however, said adequate arrangements had been made by the police in the court premises. He added that those who took the law into their hands would not be spared.