Acquittal Sparks Outrage in Nithari Child Murder Case: Parents Left Questioning Justice

Wed Nov 26 2025 06:21:42 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Nearly two decades after gruesome murders rocked the Nithari community, the acquittal of Surinder Koli reignites painful memories and leaves parents searching for answers.

The Nithari child murder case has resurfaced in the headlines as Surinder Koli, the last convicted individual, has been acquitted by the Supreme Court, citing his confession was obtained under duress. The 2006 case, which led to the discovery of numerous bodies near a 'house of horrors', has devastated families and exposed systemic failures in justice. Parents continue to suffer the loss of their children, now questioning who was truly responsible for the crimes committed.

Nearly 20 years after police found the bodies of 19 women and children near a bungalow dubbed India's house of horrors, the case is back in the spotlight - because Surinder Koli, the last of the two men convicted, has walked free.

On 12 November, the Supreme Court acquitted him in the final case pending against him, accepting his claim that his confession - which included admissions of cannibalism and necrophilia - had been extracted under torture.

The case dates back to December 2006, when police identified a bungalow in Noida, a suburb of the capital Delhi, as the site where women and children were killed and dismembered, and some allegedly raped. Businessman Moninder Singh Pandher and Surinder Koli, his servant, were arrested after body parts were found near their home.

The revelations triggered national outrage. Parents accused police of ignoring complaints that children had been going missing for more than two years. The case also exposed India's deep social divides: this occurred in an affluent enclave, while the victims were mostly from the neighbouring slums of Nithari, home to poor migrant families.

The two men were convicted of rape and murder and spent years on death row. Moninder Singh Pandher was freed in 2023, with the court eventually finding there to be a lack of evidence. Now his servant is out of jail too, bringing to an end the long judicial process in one of India's most disturbing criminal cases.

In interviews since his release, Moninder Singh Pandher has said he was innocent. Surinder Koli has not been seen in public since leaving prison and has not said anything, but his lawyer Yug Mohit Chaudhry said all the evidence against him was fabricated.

After 19 years, in the 13 cases in which he had been sentenced to death, he had already been proven innocent in 12 of them. One case was left, in which five courts had declared him guilty and gave the death sentence.

Many in Nithari are finding it very difficult to come to terms with the verdict. Parents of the missing children, surviving the trauma of loss, are left asking, Who killed our children? In an emotional plea, a father of one victim said, God will not forgive those who killed her. The sense of justice remains elusive, raising questions about the integrity of the legal system and the true identity of the perpetrators.