Nithari accused Moninder Pandher walks out of jail

Moninder Singh Pandher, who was arrested in the sensational 2006 Nithari serial killings case, walked out of Luksar jail in Greater Noida on Friday, four days after the Allahabad high court acquitted him.

The 65-year-old was dressed in a white Pathani suit paired with a waistcoat and sports shoes as he walked out of the high-security prison around 1:40 pm.

Pandher, who had a mask on, was received by a couple of advocates. He got into a car and drove off without speaking to anyone.

The high court on Monday acquitted him and his domestic help Surendra Koli in the case after noting that the prosecution had failed to prove guilt "beyond reasonable doubt" and that the investigation was botched up.

The two were charged with rape and murder and sentenced to death by a lower court in the killings in Nithari, Noida, that horrified the nation with the details of sexual assault, brutal murder and hints of possible cannibalism.

"Today, we received the second court order (related to Pandher's release). After completing the due formalities, he was released from jail," Luksar Jail Superintendent Arun Pratap Singh told PTI.

The jail officer had earlier told PTI that Pandher was lodged in the Tuberculosis ward of the prison and was undergoing treatment for the disease.

"He was lodged in the Dasna jail in the past and brought to Luksar jail in June this year," Singh added.

Koli, the key accused, continues to be behind bars in Ghaziabad's Dasna jail. He is serving life imprisonment for killing a 14-year-old girl.

The Nithari killings came to light with the discovery of the skeletal remains of eight children from a drain behind Pandher's house in Noida, bordering the national capital, on December 29, 2006.

Further digging and searches of drains in the area around Pandher's house led to the recovery of more skeletal remains. Most of these remains were that of poor children and young women who had gone missing from the area.

Within 10 days, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the case and its search resulted in the recovery of more bones.

In all, 19 cases were lodged against Pandher and Koli in 2007. The CBI had filed closure reports in three due to lack of evidence. Of the remaining 16 cases, Koli was earlier acquitted in three cases and his death sentence in one case was commuted to life.

Pandher was initially charged in six cases, according to his lawyer.

He was acquitted in three cases by the sessions court earlier. He has been acquitted by the Allahabad high court in the remaining three -- one in 2009 and in two on Monday.