Pandher and Koli of nithari rape-murder case awarded death sentence by court

DAINIK NATION BUREAU

A CBI court has pronounced death sentence to businessman Moninder Singh Pandher and his aide Surendra Koli in one of the Nithari serial rape-murder cases on Friday. With this prouncement Pandher has been awarded death sentence in ninth case by the CBI court, so far.

Special CBI Judge PK Tiwari noted that Koli and Pandher were involved in the rape and murder of housemaid Anjali in 2006, and they deserved be punished in the stringent manner.

Since Pandher was involved in the crime along with his domestic help, he is also liable for the maximum punishment that is death, the judge ruled.

Koli had dragged the victim inside the house and made her unconscious, raped her, and then ate her flesh, therefore death sentence is the only option in law. Both are to be hanged till death, the judge said.

Both are to be taken in judicial custody, he added.

On Thursday, the court held both guilty under the Sections 376 (rape), 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence or false information) of the Indian Penal Code. The two are the kingpin in the case in which many children were abducted, sexually assaulted and killed inside the house of Pandher in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

The CBI did not charge sheet Pandher in the case but the court had summoned him as accused under provision of 319 of CrPc and convicted him along with his domestic help. In this case, the 25-year-old maid did not return home on October 12, 2006. Her missing complaint was lodged in the police station.

When Koli was arrested on December 29, 2006 then police recovered some skulls from the rear of the house. One of recovered skulls DNA matched with Anjali’s mother and brother. This was the clinching  evidence to prove him guilty, said prosecution lawyer JP Sharma. The clothes were also identified by the family members of the victim, which made the court hold them guilty, the lawyer added.

This is the third case in which Pandher has been sentenced to death, while Koli had been found guilty in eight other cases decided earlier and given the death sentence. Chargesheets were filed against the two accused in 16 of the 19 cases, out of which now 10 cases have been decided.