Indian court exonerates two death row inmates in serial killing case

(MENAFN) Because of the "lack of evidence," an Indian court has exonerated two death row inmates in a well-known case involving the cannibalism and serial deaths of over a dozen children that rocked the nation more than ten years ago.

Surendra Koli and his former employer Moninder Singh Pandher were cleared of all accusations of rape and murder of at least sixteen children from low-income families on Monday by the Allahabad High Court in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

In 2009, a trial court found Mr. Pandher guilty of two counts each of rape, murder, pornography, and cannibalism, while Mr. Koli received the death penalty in twelve cases.

The court declared that the prosecution did not succeed in proving its case beyond “reasonable doubt”.

Manisha Bhandari, an attorney for Mr Pandher declared: “Mr Koli had appealed for 14 cases and he has been acquitted in all the cases, and Mr Pandher has been acquitted in two cases,”

The shocking case first surfaced in 2006 when a gruesome discovery was made: bones and skulls were found in a drain near Mr. Pandher's residence in Noida, a satellite city adjacent to New Delhi. This revelation sent shockwaves across the nation. Notably, Mr. Koli, who worked as a domestic employee for Mr. Pandher, was connected to these disturbing findings.

The majority of the remains were believed to belong to eight children and a young woman who worked as a domestic helper. These individuals had gone missing from the area in the preceding two years. This revelation was accompanied by allegations that the police had neglected to investigate missing persons reports that had been filed by the families of the victims.

MENAFN17102023000045015839ID1107254703