Who is Moninder Singh Pandher? Businessman acquitted in 2006 Nithari killings involving deceased Surendra Koli

Moninder Singh Pandher, accused in the 2006 Nithari serial killings, was acquitted in October 2023 by the Allahabad High Court. His release gained attention after Surendra Koli, another accused, died by suicide. Pandher has since been largely inactive publicly.

Moninder Singh Pandher, a businessman, was among those accused in the 2006 Nithari serial killings, which came to light after skeletal remains of children were discovered in a drain behind his house in Noida.

Pandher has been a free man since October 2023, when the Allahabad High Court acquitted him in the two remaining Nithari cases against him. The case has brought fresh focus following the death of Surendra Koli, who was also accused in the killings and was acquitted by the Supreme Court in 2025. Police said Koli allegedly died by suicide in Haridwar’s Bhupatwala area on Friday.

The court also acquitted Koli in 12 cases and highlighted shortcomings in the investigation and evidence presented in the matters. Pandher and Koli were arrested during the investigation into the killings.

Who is Moninder Singh Pandher?

Pandher owned house D-5 in Nithari, Noida, where Surendra Koli worked as a domestic helper. Pandher came from a wealthy transport business family and lived an affluent lifestyle. He was accused of sexually abusing women and children and was alleged to have committed serious crimes while his wife was away, as per a Times Of India report.

He later reportedly moved to Chandigarh, and there has been little public information about his activities since his release. Recent reports have also not indicated any regular occupation associated with him.

However, Pandher spoke publicly in November 2025 after the Supreme Court acquitted Koli. In an interview with India Today, he questioned who should be held accountable for the Nithari killings and said he too considered himself a victim of the case. “I am also a victim. Please, I also want justice,” he was quoted as saying.

Pandher was later convicted in two cases related to the deaths and received a death sentence in one case, but the conviction was subsequently overturned by higher courts. In October 2023, the Allahabad High Court acquitted Pandher in the two remaining cases against him.

Koli's final days in Haridwar

Haridwar Police said Koli had been living in the Bhupatwala area, which falls under the Haridwar City Kotwali police station. He had reportedly been operating a tea stall there for the past few days.

Haridwar City Circle Officer Shishupal Singh Negi said the man found at the Sapt Rishi area was identified as Koli through an Aadhaar card recovered from the site. Police said he allegedly died by suicide, while a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team was examining the scene.

“We have just received information that a person has died by suicide in the Sapt Rishi area. At first sight, it appears to be a case of suicide. However, an Aadhaar card found at the spot bears the name Surendra Koli and the address also matches. We have received information that the person, identified as Surendra Koli, allegedly died by suicide and appears to have been an accused in the Nithari case," Negi told ANI.

“We have been told that he was running a tea stall here and had been living in the area for some time. Our FSL team has reached the spot and is conducting a preliminary examination. After the FSL team’s visit, the proceedings for the inquest and post-mortem will be carried out. The inquest and post-mortem will be conducted by a panel,” he added.

About the Author

Garvit Bhirani is a journalist based in Gurugram. He is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint, where he covers national and international news stories, focusing on accuracy and compelling storytelling for readers. <br><br> With a total of six years of experience in journalism, he has previously worked with Vaco Binary Semantics for Google, taking on the role of news curation lead, and reported from the field on health, education, and agriculture stories for 101reporters and News9. He has also served as a content editor for entertainment and news media organisations. <br><br> Garvit holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Gurugram University, respectively. During college days, he joined India’s only non-profit student journalism network, where he anchored daily news updates and produced his own weekly show called ‘Data Fix’. <br><br> He was selected for the YES Foundation Media for Social Change Fellowship in Delhi, the Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar residential workshop, and the VOICE Fellowship in Pune. <br><br> He holds certificates in COVID-19-verification reporting, data journalism, food & agriculture, tech policy, media literacy and countering misinformation, and tackling election disinformation courses from Thomson Foundation, IndiaSpend, The Dialogue, US Mission in India, and AFP. <br><br> He can be reached on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garvit-bhirani">LinkedIn</a> or on <a href="https://x.com/GarvitBhirani">@garvitbhirani</a> on X

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