2 jobs and a room: Last days of Surendra Koli, acquitted in Nithari case, in Haridwar

Koli was a Dalit from Mangru Khal village in Almora district of Uttarakhand, and had been working for Pandher since July 2004. (Express Photo/File)

Around 25 days ago, Jai Kashyap (28) met a man in Roshanabad, Haridwar, who introduced himself as Sada Ram. The man told Kashyap he was from Almora and was looking for a room and work. Kashyap helped him find both.

On Friday, that man was found hanging inside a tea stall on Bhupatwala Road. It was only after his death that Kashyap learnt Sada Ram was actually Surendra Kumar Koli, the main accused in the 2006 Nithari killings who was acquitted by the Supreme Court in 2025.

“I came to know his name today,” Kashyap told The Indian Express in Haridwar.

“I only knew him as Sada Ram and that he was from Almora. I didn’t know anything else,” he said.

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Kashyap said he met Koli at a friend’s house after being asked to help him find a place to stay.

Koli stayed in a room in Roshanabad for a few days, but problems arose when the landlord sought identity documents. Kashyap claimed Koli did not want to deposit his Aadhaar card and eventually left the accommodation.

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Kashyap said he later learnt that Koli was moving to Haridwar. “He told me he was going to start a tea shop as Dharmender bhai (Dharmender Kaushik, another acquaintance) had rented a shop there in his name and given it to Koli to run,” he said.

The two did not speak after that. “I helped him as a human being,” Kashyap said, explaining that he often helps people in his area find vacant rooms or jobs.

Koli never told him that he was in trouble. “But I could see that he was troubled by something,” Kashyap said. “I did not know why.”

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According to police sources, Koli arrived in Haridwar a month and a half ago. Around the same time, sources told The Indian Express, he found work as a security guard at a factory.

After he left that job, Kaushik helped him get another job as a guard through a firm at an apartment, sources said, adding that Koli left that job too.

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About three days before his death, Koli rented the small tea stall in Bhupatwala, opposite Lal Mata Temple, in Kaushik’s name, according to police sources.

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Koli brought his belongings from Roshanabad and began living inside the stall. He had been selling tea and biscuits there for just two or three days.

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It was Kaushik who found Koli dead around 10 am and informed the police. Police said Kaushik told them he found the shop shut and knocked on the shutter but got no response. He initially thought Koli, who was reportedly diabetic, was asleep.

Circle Officer, Haridwar City, Shishupal Singh Negi, said the case appeared, prima facie, to be a suicide. No suicide note was found at the spot, the police said, adding that the body has been sent to the Haridwar District Hospital for a post-mortem.

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A diary found at the shop, which appeared to contain Koli’s daily expenditure and work-related accounts, has been collected by the police.

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An Award-winning journalist covering the state of Uttarakhand, Vidheesha Kuntamalla has reported on education, policy and social justice. She has broken news and written investigative stories on education, some of which have prompted responses from central universities and government authorities. She uses the Right to Information Act as a reporting tool and enjoys telling people-driven stories through long-form journalism. Vidheesha joined The Indian Express’s Delhi City team in 2023, where she has been part of the education coverage in the newsroom, reporting on policy, institutions, and issues affecting students and communities. Her journalism career began in 2020 as a freelance journalist after she left a career in civil engineering. She covered her home states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, focusing on gender, social justice, and politics. Vidheesha Kuntamalla Qualification, Degrees: Master of Science in Quantity Surveying from Kingston University, London Awards and Recognition: Vidheesha won the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award in 2024 for her long-form story on India’s first case of passive euthanasia. ... Read More