Surendra Koli, the main accused in the 2006 Nithari serial killings case, allegedly died by suicide in Haridwar on Friday.
On Thursday, Koli was found hanging at a tea stall on Sapt Sarovar Road, opposite Lal Mata Temple, in the northern part of the city, in the Bhupatwala, Haridwar, according to a CNN-News18 report.
He had been living in Haridwar for the past few months and running a tea stall. No suicide note was recovered.
The death comes less than a year after he was acquitted by the Supreme Court in the last case against him. He was subsequently released from prison.
In 2023, a bench headed by BR Gavai, who was then the Chief Justice of India, noted that Koli had already been acquitted in 12 other cases and ordered his immediate release, provided he was not required in any other case. Appeals against his acquittals were dismissed in June 2025, and in November the top court set aside his final conviction and ordered his release.
His family has been informed of his death.
The Nithari killings case came to light after the skeletal remains of about 19 children were discovered near a home in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, in December 2006. The killings triggered widespread outrage. Two men, businessman Moninder Singh Pandher and Koli, who was his domestic helper, were arrested. At least 19 young women and children had been raped, killed and dismembered. Police had alleged that Koli lured the children using sweets.
The men were later acquitted in 2023 due to a lack of evidence.
