A man who spent nearly two decades in prison over one of India’s most notorious murder cases has died, months after he was released, according to media reports. Surinder Koli, 50, was found hanged inside a tea stall he ran in Haridwar in the northern state of Uttarakhand, on Friday, reports say.
He was released in 2025 after India’s top court acquitted him in the final case against him linked to the 2006 killings of women and children in Nithari, a village on the outskirts of Delhi.
His body has been recovered and an investigation launched, according to reports.
The 2006 case shocked India after the remains of 19 women and children were found near a bungalow.
NDTV, quoting police said Koli was found hanged inside a tea stall on Friday morning, with no suicide note found at the scene.
When the case emerged, it sparked national outrage and questions over whether police had ignored complaints from families whose children had gone missing.
Koli and his employer, businessman Moninder Singh Pandher, were arrested in 2006 after body parts were found near Pandher’s home in Nithari. Police alleged the murders took place there, where Koli worked as a servant.
The revelations triggered national outrage. Many parents accused authorities of ignoring complaints about the missing children for more than two years. The case also exposed India’s deep social divides.
Many victims came from poor migrant families, while the bungalow where the men lived was in a more affluent part of the neighbourhood.
India’s top investigative agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), filed 19 cases against the two men. Koli was accused of murder, kidnapping, rape and destroying evidence, while Pandher was charged with immoral trafficking.
In 2023, the Allahabad High Court acquitted Koli in 12 cases. Pandher was also acquitted in two cases that year and released.
In November last year, the Supreme Court acquitted Koli in the final case, ruling that his confession – which included claims of cannibalism and necrophilia – had been extracted under torture. He was set free after 19 years in prison.
After his release, Koli reportedly moved to Haridwar, where he had been running a rented tea stall for the past few months.
By BBC News
Email your news TIPS to Editor@Kahawatungu.com — this is our only official communication channel
