Surendra Koli, the Nithari ‘Cannibal’ Accused, Hangs Himself After 19 Years in Jail
· India · Indian Express, Zee News
Surendra Koli, the Dalit man from Mangru Khal village in Uttarakhand’s Almora district, died by hanging on September 18, 2026, less than a year after the Supreme Court acquitted him in the 13th and final case linked to the 2006 Nithari killings in Noida. Koli, branded the ‘Nithari cannibal’ for alleged child murders and cannibalism, spent nearly two decades in prison, facing 13 death sentences before the Supreme Court overturned all charges, calling the investigation a ‘manifest miscarriage of justice.’ He walked free on November 13, 2025, after the last acquittal, but his death in a Haridwar tea stall raises questions about the psychological toll of nearly two decades of legal battles. The case, which shocked India in 2006 when 19 child remains were found in a Noida drain, remains unresolved for the victims’ families, who have yet to see justice served.
Why it matters
Koli’s death underscores the devastating human cost of prolonged legal battles and wrongful accusations, leaving families of the Nithari victims without closure. It also highlights systemic failures in investigations that led to a man spending nearly two decades in prison for crimes he was ultimately acquitted of, raising broader questions about India’s criminal justice system and the treatment of Dalit accused individuals.
Read the original report — Indian Express
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