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