Nithari killings: Moninder Singh Pandher, Surinder Koli sentenced to death

New Delhi: A CBI court, on Monday, awarded death sentence to businessman Moninder Singh Pandher and his domestic help Surender Koli in one of the Nithari serial rape, abduction and murder cases. Special CBI judge, Pawan Kumar Tiwari, awarded death penalty to both the accused for killing a 20-year-old, Pinki Sarkar.

The case, the eighth of the several lodged against them, was registered by the CBI on December 29, 2006.

Prosecution lawyer J.P. Sharma sought death sentence and argued that forensic evidence proved that Koli abducted, raped and killed the woman, and also tampered with evidence.

Defence lawyer Devraj Singh pleaded for minimum punishment as Pandher suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes. According to the prosecution, on October 5, 2006, the victim was on her way to home from work when she was abducted, raped, and killed by the accused. The CBI alleged that Surinder carried the body to the first floor of the bathroom and dismembered it with a knife. Later, the accused threw her head and garments behind the house.