What happened in Nithari in 2006?

Brut India

Multiple murders, two main suspects and the “house of horrors”... here's everything you need to know about the 2006 Nithari serial murder case.

Transcript

00:00A 10-year-old girl from Nethari village went missing in June 2005, just a few hours after

00:05her mother sent her to a tailor in Noida Sector 31.

00:08Her parents asked about their daughter in the neighbourhood, but no one knew about her

00:13whereabouts.

00:14They then came across Muninder Singh Pandher and his house help, Surendra Kohli, who was

00:18standing outside their house.

00:26Her father Jhabbulal went to file a missing complaint, but the police refused to register

00:31it.

00:32Between 2005 and 2006, not just Jhabbulal's daughter, but many other children and young

00:36women went missing from the area.

00:48This is the story of the Nethari killings.

00:53On 29 December 2006, two villagers found human remains in a drain near a house which

00:58led to a police investigation.

01:01The police arrested the house owner Pandher and his house help Kohli.

01:05The next day, more body parts were found in the drain near Pandher's house.

01:15This triggered massive outrage, and the victims' families demanded strict action against the

01:19two accused.

01:25Six policemen were also suspended for negligence in handling the case after the murders came

01:29to light.

01:36The case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation, or CBI, on 10 January 2007,

01:41following pressure from the central government.

01:43The CBI said Kohli confessed to the crimes during the investigation, revealing how he

01:48kidnapped, sexually assaulted, murdered and then dismembered the victims.

01:53The CBI said that Kohli lured the children by offering them sweets and chocolates and

01:58then strangled them to death.

01:59They also said that he confessed to acts of cannibalism and necrophilia, which means he

02:04used to sexually assault the victims' dead bodies.

02:06The CBI labelled him as a psychopath.

02:09On the other hand, Pandher was said to be a womaniser, and the CBI said that it was

02:13possible that he was not involved in the murders.

02:16Over the next two years, the investigation agency thoroughly investigated the case.

02:21The remains of the victims, along with their personal belongings, which were found sealed

02:24in the drain, were sent to forensic labs for examination.

02:28In 2009, a special court in Ghaziabad found Pandher and Kohli guilty of murdering a 14-year-old

02:34girl who was killed in 2005.

02:36They both were given the death sentence on 13 February 2009.

02:39While Kohli faced death sentences for several murders, Pandher was acquitted by the Allahabad

02:44High Court on 10 September 2009, which overturned his death sentence.

02:49In February 2011, the Supreme Court cleared the death sentence of Kohli in one of the

02:54cases.

02:55After which, Kohli filed a mercy petition, which was a formal request for mercy made

02:59to the President of India or Uttar Pradesh's Governor.

03:02But it was rejected by the then President Pranab Mukherjee three years later on 28 July

03:072014.

03:09That same year, in September, Pandher walked out of jail after getting bail in all cases.

03:14On 28 January 2015, Kohli's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment due to delays

03:20in his mercy petition.

03:21He said, I have got justice today and hopefully in future too, I will receive the same.

03:26Four years later, Kohli was given the death sentence again for new convictions.

03:32On 16 October 2023, the Allahabad High Court acquitted both Kohli and Pandher due to lack

03:41of evidence beyond their confessions.

03:50The victim's families were devastated with this decision.

03:53Jabulal, the father of the 10-year-old victim, said, This is not right.

03:57When someone killing several children gets acquitted, imagine what punishment will those

04:01get who will kill just one or two?

04:09A year later, the case resurfaced in the public eye with the release of the film Sector 36,

04:14which was inspired by two events.

Category

Transcript

Recommended