Now Reading: Nithari victim’s father questions Surendra Koli’s death, alleges murder
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Nithari victim’s father questions Surendra Koli’s death, alleges murder
Nithari victim’s father questions Surendra Koli’s death, alleges murder
The father of a 15-year-old girl killed in the 2006 Nithari case has alleged that Surendra Koli was murdered, not a suicide victim. Jhabbu Lal said Koli would have been about to…
The father of a 15-year-old girl killed in the 2006 Nithari case has alleged that Surendra Koli was murdered, not a suicide victim. Jhabbu Lal said Koli would have been about to disclose important information. Koli, who was acquitted in all 13 Nithari cases by the Supreme Court in 2025, was found hanging at his tea stall in Haridwar on Friday.
Police said a forensic team examined the scene and the death appears prima facie to be a case of suicide. Lal said if Koli had wanted to die by suicide, he would have done so in jail. He claimed businessman Moninder Singh Pandher, at whose house Koli worked, was the main accused and should be hanged. Lal and his wife have spent nearly two decades seeking justice.
The Nithari case came to light in 2006 after skeletal remains were found near Pandher's bungalow in Noida. The Supreme Court acquitted Koli in his last case in 2025, saying suspicion cannot substitute for proof beyond reasonable doubt. Police are investigating the circumstances of Koli's death.
Indian Opinion Analysis
All three outlets report the same facts: Jhabbu Lal's allegation of murder and the police's prima facie suicide finding. Hindustan Times and Times of India foreground the victim's father's doubts, while India Today leads with the dramatic near-hanging in 2014, framing Koli's death as the noose finally catching up. The neutral report is the same story, the critical coverage is the father's challenge to the official account. The core dispute remains unresolved: Koli's death is under investigation, and the question of who actually killed the Nithari children is unanswered. The post-mortem report and any further police findings will be the next concrete step.
Coverage: 3 sources, 2 neutral, 1 sensationalist
Sources (3): hindustantimes.com (neutral report), timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report), indiatoday.in (sensationalist)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
