Murder, rape charges against Koli in 2 cases

A special CBI court on Tuesday framed murder and rape charges against Surinder Koli, the prime accused in the Nithari serial killing case, in connection with the killing of two women.

Moninder Singh Pandher, at whose house the killings took place, has been charged with conspiracy to murder, destruction of evidence and providing shelter to the accused for the murder of Payal (22) by the special designated court of additional district judge Ram Jain.

However, Pandher has got a clean chit in four other cases - Payal (14), Pinki Sarkar (21) Nanda Devi (26) and Rimpa Haldar (21) - where Koli is the sole accused.

Advocate Khalid Khan, who argued against giving clean chit to Pandher in all the cases, told PTI that he will approach the high court for getting the charge of murder framed against him.

He said that the court added the charge of providing shelter to the accused against Pandher in the case of Payal (22) but refused to frame him for murder and kidnap.

Meanwhile, on the basis of Khan's petition, the judge has ordered that the case diary of Noida police prepared by the then circle officer Dinesh Yadav in the case of Payal (14) be presented before it.

The case will be heard again by the court on June 4 after the case diary is produced.

In Pinki Sarkar case too, the judge had earlier ordered further investigation on the basis of Khan's complaint against giving clean chit to Pandher.

CBI had, on March 22, filed its first chargesheet in the gory killings of women and children.

The agency had said the probe revealed that Pandher was not in his house when Koli committed 16 murders and that he was unaware of the killings.

It slapped on 60-year-old Pandher lesser charges like procuring call girls, indulging in prostitution, bribing police officials and destruction of evidence.