Surendra Koli died by suicide, postmortem report confirms

Dehradun, Sep 23 (PTI): Surendra Koli -- the man at the centre of the Nithari killings who was acquitted in all 13 cases last year -- died by suicide, according to his post-mortem report, police said on Wednesda.

Surendra Koli died by suicide, postmortem report confirms

Dehradun, Sep 23 (PTI): Surendra Koli -- the man at the centre of the Nithari killings who was acquitted in all 13 cases last year -- died by suicide, according to his post-mortem report, police said on Wednesday.

Haridwar City Circle Officer (Police) Shishupal Singh Negi said the post-mortem report confirms Koli committed suicide on September 18 by hanging himself from the ceiling fan in his tea stall in Haridwar's Saptarishi area.

He said that, according to the report, clear ligature marks were found on Koli's neck, but no other injury marks were found on his body. The police officer said the rope appears to have snapped due to Koli's weight, causing him to fall to the ground; bleeding from the mouth and nose likely occurred subsequently. 

Police are also investigating financial hardship and personal stress as possible reasons for Koli's death.

According to the official, Koli struggled to find work in Haridwar and faced financial difficulties. An official involved in the investigation said Koli had borrowed ₹5,000 to start the tea stall, which he opened just three or four days before his death.

The officer said police examined CCTV footage from the scene and the surrounding areas, but no suspicious activity has come to light so far. He said Koli lived in extremely difficult circumstances and had to change rooms four times within a short period in Haridwar. 

The officer said Koli was living under a concealed identity and repeatedly had to quit his jobs because he could not provide an Aadhaar card or undergo police verification. According to police, Koli arrived in Haridwar about a month ago.

Police said they received information that, before coming to Haridwar, he stayed with some lawyers and at a church in Bengaluru. 

Koli's family members questioned his death and demanded an impartial investigation. 

The Nithari case came to light in 2006 when skeletal remains, skulls, and bones were discovered in the backyard and drains near a bungalow belonging to businessman Moninder Singh Pandher in Sector 31, Noida.

Koli worked as a domestic help at the Pandher's house.

The gruesome findings, which unearthed the disappearance and killings of several children and women, had triggered nationwide outrage and terrorised the local community.

Pandher, a co-accused in the case, was also in jail for years but was released on October 20, 2023, after his acquittal. Koli, the only convict, was acquitted by the Supreme Court in 2025 in the last such case. It was the 13th case in the Nithari killings in which Koli was acquitted. He was earlier acquitted in the 12 other related cases.  PTI COR DPT ASD ASD

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)