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Surendra Koli

In a quiet village near Delhi, a scary story from 2006 still gives people chills.

It started when police found human bones in a drain behind a big house in Noida.

This led to one of India’s worst crime cases, called the Nithari killings.

Now, after many years, the Supreme Court gave a big decision on November 11, 2025.

It let the main suspect go free.

However, the real killers are still unknown.

This news got lost because of the recent bomb blasts in Delhi.

Let us look back at this sad story and see what went wrong, including the newest updates.

How It All Began: A Shocking Find

Back in 2006, in the village of Nithari, something terrible came to light.

Behind a fancy house owned by a businessman named Moninder Singh Pandher, workers found bones in a dirty drain.

One by one, they pulled out 19 skeletons.

These were the remains of children who had gone missing from the area.

The whole country was shocked.

Parents cried as they thought about their lost kids.

The bones showed signs of bad things, like murder and maybe even worse crimes.

The police checked the bones with scientific tests.

They said there were parts from 19 bodies, but the court counted it as 16 murders because some evidence matched that number.

The house belonged to Pandher, and his helper, Surendra Koli (sometimes spelled Kohli), worked there as a cook.

People said Koli did the killings, and Pandher knew about it or helped.

The Long Road Through The Courts

The case went to court, and it took 18 long years.

First, the local police in Noida looked into it.

Then, the big agency called CBI took over because people thought the police did a bad job.

Over time, there were 50 decisions from different courts.

Here is what happened step by step:

Early Court Decisions: The lower court said both Pandher and Koli were guilty. They gave death sentences to Koli in 13 cases and to Pandher, too, at first. Koli said he confessed because the police hurt him. They found a knife in the kitchen, but that was the main proof.
High Court Changes Things: The case went to the Allahabad High Court. In 2017, they let Pandher go free because there was no strong proof against him. For Koli, they kept death sentences in 13 cases at first. However, later, in 12 of those, they said he was not guilty. The court said the CBI’s case was weak. There were no good witnesses, no clear scientific proof from the house or drain, and the confession might be fake because of torture. Missing records and bad police work helped Koli.
The Special Case Of A Young Girl: One case was about a 15-year-old girl who was killed and badly hurt. The lower court, the high court, and even the Supreme Court in 2011 said Koli should get the death penalty. He asked the Supreme Court to look again, but they said no in 2011. Then, in 2023, Koli went back to the high court. He told waiting so long for death was like torture every day. The high court changed his death sentence to life in jail.

The Final Supreme Court Decision: Acquittal And Release

Koli did not give up.

With only one case left, he asked the Supreme Court one more time using a special request called a curative petition.

On November 11, 2025, three judges, including the top judge of India, listened.

They said Koli was not guilty in this last case, too.

They agreed the proof was too weak: just a confession that might be forced and a knife that did not look right for the crimes.

No medical checks on Koli during police time, no audio tapes, and bad science work at the house.

Now, both men are free. Pandher got out years ago.

Koli left the Luksar district jail in Greater Noida on November 12, 2025, around 7:20 pm, after the jail received the court’s papers.

He was wearing a blue shirt, black trousers, and a navy-blue jacket.

He walked out with his lawyers, but no family members were there to meet him.

Koli did not talk to the media waiting outside, and it is not known where he went after leaving the jail.

The Supreme Court said it is sad that the real killer was not found.

If Koli is really innocent, he lost his life for nothing.

His mom died, his wife left him with their child, calling him a monster.

However, if he is guilty, justice failed.

A Scary Night Almost Ended It All

One time, things got very close.

After early death sentences, police moved Koli from Dasna Jail to Meerut Jail at night to hang him.

Dasna had no hanging place.

They got ready to do it in the morning.

However, news got out.

Lawyers ran to the Supreme Court late at night.

They said other cases were still going, so he needed to stay alive for trials.

The court stopped the hanging just in time.

They sent the order by fax, even though we have phones now.

Koli came back to jail, safe but scared.

This shows how messy the case was: quick moves, mistakes, and close calls.

Like Another Famous Case Nearby

This story reminds us of another sad case: the murder of Aarushi Talwar and Hemraj in 2008.

It happened just 5-7 km away in Noida.

Both cases started with the Noida police, then went to the CBI.

The same CBI officer, Arun Kumar, worked on both.

In the end, no one knows who killed Aarushi and Hemraj.

Same here, no real killer found for the 16 Nithari kids.

Both families wait for answers that never come.

Big Questions Left: Who Did It?

If Pandher and Koli did not do it, who killed those 16 children?

The courts blame bad work by police, CBI, and science teams.

Evidence got lost, checks were not done right, and no one saw the crimes.

The knife?

Courts said it could not cut bodies like people said.

The confession?

Taken in secret, maybe with pain.

The families fought hard for 18 years.

They went to every court hearing.

Some parents died waiting.

The ones left feel empty.

They do not know who hurt their kids.

After the Supreme Court’s decision, many families asked, “Then who killed our children?” They feel angry and sad that, after so long, there is no answer.

One big question: if no one is guilty, where is justice?

On the other side, if Koli is innocent, who will say sorry for his lost years?

His family broke apart.

There were no celebrations in his village after the acquittal.

His family had fled years ago because of shame, and his mother passed away three years ago.

The system failed everyone.

This case shows problems in how India handles big crimes.

The police and the CBI made big mistakes.

Courts can only judge what they see, and they saw weak proof.