Nithari killings accused Surendra Koli found dead in Haridwar
The 50-year-old, who spent nearly two decades in prison before being cleared of all charges, was found hanging in a shop he ran under a false name.
Surendra Koli, the man acquitted of the notorious 2006 Nithari serial killings after spending nearly two decades in prison, has been found dead inside a tea stall in Haridwar.
Police found Koli, 50, on Friday morning in the Saptarishi area of the temple town. He was found with a rope around his neck, and another section of the rope still tied to a ceiling fan. Investigators believe the rope snapped under his weight. No suicide note was found at the scene.
What happened in Haridwar
For the past month and a half, Koli had been living in Haridwar under the false identity of "Sada Ram". He worked briefly as a security guard in Roshanabad before renting a small tea stall opposite the Lal Mata Temple just four days before his death.
His landlord, Anil Sharma, said Koli paid a ’’’14,000 advance and a monthly rent of ’’’7,000, telling him he wanted to establish a business ahead of next year's Ardh Kumbh festival.
"I helped him as a human being," Jai Kashyap, a local resident, told The Indian Express. Kashyap said Koli had refused to provide his Aadhaar card when a previous landlord asked for identification, leading him to move out of his earlier lodgings.
Police said a diary containing daily business expenditures was collected from the shop, and the body has been sent to the Haridwar District Hospital for a post-mortem to determine the exact cause of death.
Who was Surendra Koli
Koli’s death comes less than a year after he walked free from jail on 12 November 2025. He was originally arrested in December 2006 alongside his employer, Noida businessman Moninder Singh Pandher.
The arrests followed the discovery of the skeletal remains of children and women in the drains behind Pandher’s Sector 31 bungalow. The case shocked the nation and triggered widespread outrage.
Once facing 12 death sentences, Koli was gradually cleared of almost all charges as the courts found the prosecution's evidence unreliable. In November 2025, the Supreme Court allowed his curative petition in his final remaining case, ruling that "suspicion, however grave, cannot replace proof beyond a reasonable doubt."
The court noted that Koli’s confession, recorded months after his arrest while in custody, could not support a conviction.
Questions over the death
Following his acquittal, Koli returned to a fractured life. His family in Almora had long distanced themselves from him, and his wife and children had left their ancestral village sixteen years ago.
While police are treating the death as an apparent suicide, the family of one of the Nithari victims has questioned the circumstances. The father of a 10-year-old girl whose remains were found in 2006 told reporters he suspects foul play and has demanded an extensive murder investigation.
Key numbers
- 50
- 12 November 2025
- 7,000 rupees
Questions readers are asking
What was the Nithari killings case?
The Nithari killings case emerged in December 2006 when the skeletal remains, skulls, and bones of several children and women were discovered in the drains and backyard of businessman Moninder Singh Pandher's bungalow in Sector 31, Noida.
Why was Surendra Koli acquitted?
The Supreme Court of India cleared Koli of his convictions because the prosecution relied heavily on a confession made under custody and evidence that courts found unreliable. The court ruled that grave suspicion cannot replace legal proof.
