Surendra Koli, the man at the centre of the grisly 2006 Nithari killings who spent nearly two decades in jail before being acquitted in all 13 cases, was found dead in his tea stall in Haridwar on Friday, police said. He was 50.
Police await post-mortem to establish cause of death
“Chaiwala bhai had started selling tea just a few days ago…Now that his identity has been revealed, all the neighbouring shopkeepers and those who used to have tea at his shop are shocked. Koli, who worked as a domestic help at the Noida house of businessman and co-accused Moninder Singh Pandher, was found with a noose around his neck but no suicide note was recovered, police added. They found a noose tied around Koli’s neck, and another piece of the rope tied to the ceiling fan. However, he clarified that a statement regarding the cause of Koli’s death could only be made after the post-mortem report is received. The incident sparked nationwide outrage as the disappearances and murders of several children and women were suspected. Koli’s brother Anand Ram refused to speak to the media. Koli, son of Shankar Ram, had two brothers, Chandan Ram and Anand Ram, who work in Delhi and Almora respectively.
The Nithari case came to light in 2006 when skeletons, skulls, and bones were discovered in the drains and the backyard of businessman Pandher’s bungalow in Noida’s Sector 31. Koli and Pandher were arrested on December 29, 2006 and charged with rape , murder , abduction, trafficking and destruction of evidence.
Haridwar city deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Shishupal Singh Negi said that police arrived at the scene after information about a body lying in the shop in the Saptarishi area. Negi said it was suspected that the rope snapped under the weight of the body after death, causing it to fall to the floor. City Kotwali station house officer Kundan Singh Rana said Koli was working as a tea vendor in Haridwar for the last four days. The police said Koli was identified as a resident of Magrukhal in the Bhikiasain area of Almora. He said Koli’s family in Almora was informed and an investigation initiated into the circumstances surrounding the death. Police also said Koli ran a food cart in Roshanabad before shifting to the tea stall. It was around 11am when he was spotted dead inside the shop,” said a battery- rickshaw driver from the area. Villagers in the Mangrukhal area of Almora district said Koli’s ancestral home was abandoned for years.
Victim’s family questions circumstances of Koli’s death
“We had lost our hope of justice last year following the Supreme Court judgment. We learned of his suicide through social media and regret it, but the true grief belongs to his family. “The man, who spent nearly two decades in jail, cannot die by suicide . “We demand extensive investigation into his death. After fighting the case for many years, we gave up and did not appeal anywhere. Our only demand is that people who are guilty of the gruesome murder of Nithari should be held responsible,” he added.
He rented the tea stall to Koli for a monthly rental of ₹ 7,000 and an advance of ₹ 14,000. Rana said Koli previously worked as a security guard in Roshanabad, around 14km from Haridwar, for around 15 days. In 2010, Shanti Devi left Almora with their eight-year-old daughter and four-year-old son and never returned to the village. Mangrukhal village head Ishu Devi, 30, said no family members visited the village. “Surendra Koli’s wife left the village about 16 years ago and never returned. His mother, Kunti Devi, passed away in 2022-23. Villager Rajendra Lakheda, 35, said residents had respected the Supreme Court ’s acquittal of Koli and had no objection to his returning to the village. The parents of a 10-year-old girl –– who was among those recovered from the now infamous D-5 bungalow in Noida, Sector 31 –– questioned the developments. There must be some foul play, or we suspect it is a murder,” the father of the 10-year-old victim said.
“He told me that he wanted to shift to the main Haridwar city area to earn a better livelihood for his family,” Sharma said. His brothers visited at that time, but since then they too have shown no interest in the village,” she said. “We had said back then that if he wished to return to the village, there would be no opposition at any level. However, no family member visits the village anymore,” he said.
Anil Sharma, who had rented out the tea stall to Koli in the Kumbh Mela area in Haridwar, said Koli introduced himself as Sada Ram and said he was previously working in Roshanabad. The investigation was later transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on January 11, 2007. Pandher was acquitted in October 2023 by the Allahabad high court . Much of the case against Koli was built on his alleged confessional statement recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) before a Delhi magistrate on March 1, 2007 — three months after his arrest. Over the years, Koli was acquitted in 12 of the 13 cases. In 2025, the apex court cleared him in the final case. Allowing Koli’s curative petition challenging his conviction in the case related to the alleged rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in Nithari, the apex court said criminal law did not permit conviction on conjecture or on a hunch. Koli, dressed in a powder-blue shirt, black pants, and a navy-blue jacket, walked out of jail on November 12, 2025. Villagers said the brothers distanced themselves from Koli after his name emerged in the Nithari case in 2006.
The area falls in the core Mela zone and has a large number of temples, ashrams, dharamshala s, maths and hotels.
A bench comprising then CJI BR Gavai and justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath had said the offences in Nithari were heinous and the suffering of the families was beyond measure. “It is a matter of deep regret that despite prolonged investigation, the identity of the actual perpetrator has not been established in a manner that meets the legal standards,” the bench had said. It said that suspicion, however grave, could not replace proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and the courts could not prefer expediency over legality. “The presumption of innocence endures until guilt is proved through admissible and reliable evidence; and when proof fails, the only lawful outcome is to set aside the conviction even in a case involving horrific crimes,” the bench had said. Neighbouring shopkeepers said Sada Ram appeared to have been looking ahead to next year’s Ardh Kumbh fair, hoping to maximise his earnings during the four-month event. However, his mother Kunti Devi and wife Shanti Devi had visited him in jail, said Narayan Singh, a resident of Almora , who accompanied them. Singh also said that Koli visited the village in June for a few days to attend a religious event.
