‘...then who killed our children’, ask families of Nithari victims after SC acquits Koli

Grief and disbelief gripped the families of victims of the 2006 Nithari serial killings, a day after the Supreme Court acquitted Surendra Koli, the only convict in the case, and ordered his immediate release if not required in any other matter.

The anguished parents of the deceased children said they have now “accepted defeat” and left their hopes for justice “in the hands of God”.

“I have no hope now. We have accepted our defeat. The rest depends on God,” 67-year-old Jhabbulal, father of a 10-year-old victim, said at his home in Noida’s Sector 31.

The incident had come to light with the discovery of the skeletal remains of eight children from a drain behind businessman Moninder Singh Pandher’s house at Nithari in Noida on December 29, 2006. Koli was the domestic help at Pandher’s house at that time.

Remains of Jhabbulal’s daughter were identified through DNA testing after her clothes and slippers were recovered from the Pandher’s house in Nithari village nearly 19 years ago.

“Who killed our daughter if they were not culprits? Why were they kept in jail for so many years then?” he asked. “I sold my Delhi plot and borrowed money at interest, hoping for justice, but nothing happened. We are poor, and now only god can help us.”

Jhabbulal, who irons clothes for a living with his wife Sunita (60), said their family has never recovered from the trauma.

“Our daughter was just 10. Those days were horrific, and even now, remembering them brings tears,” said Sunita, her voice trembling. “We did not get justice.”        Families like Jhabbulal’s said the acquittal has reopened old wounds. “It’s as if our children never existed,” said another parent.

Locals said that even years after the killings, fear lingers in the neighbourhood. The infamous D-5 bungalow in Nithari, once the scene of gruesome discoveries, now stands in ruins, covered by shrubs and wild growth.

“Parents stopped letting their children play outside for years,” said a neighbour. “That horror still haunts the locality.”

Koli has been lodged in the Luksar jail in Gautam Buddh Nagar for the past two years after being transferred from Ghaziabad jail. Following the Supreme Court’s acquittal order, he was likely to be released on Wednesday, according to a police official

Koli’s wife and son have regularly visited him in jail, along with a few other relatives.

The official said the apex court’s order, which came on Tuesday, would first be sent to the Ghaziabad district judge and then forwarded to the Luksar jail, after which the release process will be completed.

On Tuesday, a bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath acquitted Koli in the last pending Nithari case, observing that “criminal law does not permit conviction on conjecture or on a hunch”.

The apex court allowed Koli’s curative petition in the case related to the alleged rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl, setting aside his conviction and ordering his immediate release if not wanted in any other matter.

The bench said that although the offences were “heinous” and the suffering of families “beyond measure”, the prosecution failed to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

“Suspicion, however grave, cannot replace proof,” the court observed, lamenting that “negligence and delay corroded the fact-finding process” and key evidence was lost due to investigative lapses.

The court also pointed out that the Nithari investigation failed to secure the crime scene properly, did not promptly record crucial disclosures, and neglected to examine material witnesses. It also criticised the handling of forensic material and the lack of follow-up on potential leads, including a possible organ trade angle flagged earlier by a government panel.

In January 2015, the Allahabad High Court commuted Koli’s death sentence to life imprisonment, citing delays in deciding his mercy plea.

In October 2023, the high court acquitted both Koli and Pandher in other Nithari cases, overturning the death sentences awarded by the trial court. The Supreme Court later dismissed all appeals against those acquittals on July 30 this year.