12 death sentences, 13 acquittals later, Nithari’s Surendra Koli found dead in Haridwar: Timeline

Surendra Koli, acquitted in the Nithari killings case, was found dead in Haridwar on Friday, police reported. Koli, in his early 50s, had been running a tea stall in Uttarakhand after his release. A preliminary inquiry suggested suicide, though an investigation was ongoing to uncover the circumstances. No suicide note was found.

Koli and his former employer, Moninder Singh Pandher, faced multiple accusations from the Nithari killings in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The case emerged in December 2006 after human remains were discovered in a drain near Pandher's residence. Koli, who worked as Pandher's domestic help, was arrested alongside his employer and convicted in several cases, receiving a death sentence.

However, courts later acquitted Koli in multiple cases, including in November 2025 when the Supreme Court accepted his curative petition, citing inconsistencies in the evidentiary basis for his conviction. The Nithari killings remain a highly scrutinized criminal case in India, with the discovery of human remains sparking a lengthy investigation and legal battle.