Punjab Newsline | New Delhi
Surendra Koli, who was accused in the Nithari killings case, was found dead at a tea stall in Haridwar on Friday, September 18. Police said he allegedly died by suicide by hanging inside the shop in the Bhupatwala area of North Haridwar. No suicide note has reportedly been recovered, and the circumstances surrounding his death are being investigated.
Koli, who was around 50, had been living alone in Haridwar for the past few months. According to local reports, he had rented a small roadside shop around four days ago and had started selling tea there. He had also reportedly paid the shop owner several months' rent in advance.
Neighbours reportedly said that an anti-encroachment drive was underway in the area ahead of preparations for the Kumbh, and Koli may have been worried that his newly rented shop would be removed. However, police have not confirmed this as the reason for his death and are investigating all possible circumstances.
The Nithari case came to light after children and women began disappearing from Noida's Nithari area in 2005-06. On December 29, 2006, human remains, including skulls and bones, were recovered from a drain and areas behind businessman Moninder Singh Pandher's D-5 residence in Sector 31, Noida. Koli, who worked as Pandher's domestic help, and Pandher were subsequently arrested.
The investigation was handed over to the CBI in January 2007. Multiple FIRs were registered in connection with the disappearances and alleged crimes, and Koli faced charges including murder, rape, kidnapping and destruction of evidence.
Koli was sentenced to death in several cases. However, the Allahabad High Court acquitted him in 12 connected cases in October 2023. The Supreme Court subsequently upheld those acquittals in July 2025.
In November 2025, the Supreme Court allowed Koli's curative petition in the final pending case, set aside his conviction and acquitted him of charges under Sections 302, 364, 376 and 201 of the IPC. The court ordered his release if he was not required in any other case or proceeding.
Koli had therefore been out of prison for less than a year before his death in Haridwar. The police
