Surendra Koli, the main accused in the 2006 Nithari killings, was found dead inside a tea kiosk in Haridwar on Friday morning, September 18, 2026. Police suspect suicide.
According to the latest news the body was found hanging with a rope inside a rented tea stall opposite Lal Mata Temple on Sapt Sarovar Road in Bhupatwala area under Haridwar City Kotwali limits. The Sapt Rishi police outpost received information in the morning and a forensic team examined the spot.
– No suicide note was found at the shop.
– He was identified as Surendra Koli, son of Shanku Ram, resident of Mangrukhal village in Bhikiyasain area of Almora district. You mentioned Syalde, which is part of the same Bhikiyasain tehsil.
– Police said prima facie it appears to be suicide, but investigation is on to ascertain reasons and circumstances. Body has been taken into custody for panchanama and post-mortem and his family in Almora has been informed.
Kindly recall that Koli had been living in Haridwar for the past few months. He had earlier worked as a security guard in Roshnabad and had moved to Bhupatwala just 4 days ago to start the tea kiosk where his body was found.
– The Nithari case came to light on December 29, 2006, when skeletal remains of children and young women were recovered from a drain behind businessman Moninder Singh Pandher’s house D-5 in Sector 31, Noida, where Koli worked as domestic help.
– CBI filed chargesheets in 16 cases. Koli was convicted and sentenced to death in several cases and spent nearly 19 years in jail.
– In October 2023, Allahabad High Court acquitted him in 12 cases. The Supreme Court upheld those acquittals on July 30, 2025.
– The last remaining conviction was in the Rimpa Haldar case. On November 11, 2025, a Supreme Court bench headed by then CJI B.R. Gavai allowed his curative petition, set aside his conviction and ordered release forthwith if not wanted in any other case. He walked out of Kasna jail, Greater Noida on November 12, 2025.
– His former employer Moninder Singh Pandher was acquitted and released on October 20, 2023.
The allegations of kidnapping, rape, murder and cannibalism were part of the original CBI charge, but all convictions were ultimately set aside by courts citing shortcomings in evidence.
